The Circle Of Life
by Jayme F. Midorikawa
Summary: My first attempt at an LK fic. Four human boys crash land in the Pridelands and are soon found by King Mufasa's pride. Could they have a part to play in the Circle Of Life, or is their being in the Pridelands merely a fluke towards adventure. R&R please.
1. Chapter 1

Hi everyone. I cannot apologize enough for having not updated or submitted any new stories for so long. I have been so busy, but that is no excuse to leave you all starving for some entertaining literature. Anyway, here's my newest story in ages. Ever since I decided to watch The Lion King after several yeas, I officially labeled it as my one favorite classic Disney movie, and after reading several stories of it on , I knew I just had to make one. So here it is. I will try to progress this story, as well as a few of my others over the next weeks to come. I'm back, and this time I'm here to stay.

**P.S. the human characters in this story are based on me and my music and musician friends. James is actually something of a nickname my friends use for me, so I decided to use it. THIS aspect of the story was inspired by my owning of METALLICA S&M. Don't ask me why, it's just the way it happened. Anyway, here it is, the beginning of my new story, THE CIRCLE OF LIFE. Read and review, as always.**

'…_hey…hey, James? …hey, James, wake up! James? _JAMES!!"

James instantly shot upright in his chair in a shock, looking around at his surroundings. "What? What is it!?" he asked in between breaths. If there was anything he absolutely hated, it was when people had to shake him, and therefore stir him from his sleep. When he looked around, he wasn't able to see anything that would be called an emergency. Impatiently, he crossed his arms and fixed his gaze on the 18-year-old boy sitting right across from him.

David, an Italian boy with short but straight black hair, with a grin adorned with braces, and blue eyes hidden behind a small pair of glasses, simply chuckled, leaning back into his seat. "Nothing. You were just sleeping again, and we all know how boring it is when you sleep, seeing as you're the only person I can even talk to." He said while folding his arms back behind his head and resting his head on them, looking out the window.

James groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger so as to shake the drowsiness from his eyes as he too looked out the window. All that could be seen was an ocean of white. Seeing as they were currently in their own private jet, they were allowed to do this. James was a 17-year-old German boy with a short top head of thick dark brown hair, which smoothly turned into a mullet in the back, albeit a very curly one, which stunted the length factor. He had a very slowly growing, and very thin mustache in the works of growing, and very dark green eyes. When he was finally fully awake, he turned his attention back to David. "Hey, any idea where we are? We've been flying for 18 full hours, and even I know that that is too long a flight from Berlin to Japan. So any idea where we are?" he asked in what was more of a groan as he leaned back into his seat.

David simply sighed as he patted his palms against the arms of his seat in a bored manner. "Eh. The pilot said there was some really intense cloud coverage and a massive rainstorm all over Russia, so we're taking a bit of a detour over Africa. Pilot said we should be in Tokyo in the next ten hours." James simply groaned as he undid his seatbelt and stood himself up. "Where're Michael and Mason?" he asked crankily as he looked up and down the rows.

"Oh, they're behind the curtain in the rear compartment. They said they were getting bored, so they decided to practice a little bit before turning in for the night." David responded with a yawn as he looked out the window just in time to see the last rays of the setting sun disappear behind a sea of clouds. James tiredly shook his head as he pushed the curtains back to find the aforementioned Michael and Mason sitting at the end of the cabin surrounded by an assortment of electrical musical instruments.

These four boys were in fact, expert musicians from all over Europe. The name of their band, they simply called 'Unknown', so as to leave it to the fans imagination. James was from Berlin, Germany, and played their bass guitars. He considered it a fun hobby, getting to make music just by plucking with your own fingers. David was from the heart of Rome, Italy, and supplied their vocals. He had a habit of swapping his vocals from powerful and melodic, to strong and rough. He had his own form of eccentric behavior, but the others still got along with him great. He was definitely good at giving people something to laugh at when they were down. Michael was from Oslo, Norway, and provided the guitar playing. He had a habit of being short, straight and to the point, but that didn't mean he wasn't willing to be entertaining to others. He and James were originally going to be in opposite band positions, but they found each others instruments too difficult. Last but not least, was Mason, from St. Mere Eglise, France. He was none other than their drummer. He was by far the easiest guy in the world to get along with. Cool, easygoing, and incredibly friendly, and always willing to listen, was the one way to describe him.

Michael always had his light brown hair done in a straight clean Beatle-style bowl cut, and had the small golden brown goatee growing from his chin untouched, in the hopes of gaining a beard that James Hetfield, his lifelong idol, would commend upon. His eyes were a clear blue, but you wouldn't know it from a first glance. Mason always preferred to have his golden blonde hair either done in a ponytail, or to have the sides shortened, so as to give a more unique appearance to his person. His eyes were also a shimmering blue, which really would go well with the smile that was always on his face, no matter what went on around him. Unbeknownst to him, all the others always wanted to know how he was able to constantly stay positive at all times. You could say they almost admired him for it.

"Oh, hey James. What's up?" Mason asked when he noticed their bassist standing in the curtain doorway, looking at them tiredly. "You guys DO know that we're taking a ten hour detour, right?" he asked tiredly, trying to spread the news in case they hadn't heard.

"Yeah, we know. That's why we're in here practicing. Otherwise we'd be sleeping, seeing as that's all there is to do in here?" Michael responded, clearly bored beyond belief. Mason, however, didn't look bored at all. He loved to play the drums. Claimed it helped clear his mind, or get his mind off of boredom.

James smoothed his hair back with his fingers as he turned to the doorway on his left. "Don't wear yourselves out too much, guys. Catch some shut eye, cause it's…" he mumbled as he looked a the clock on the wall above the door. "…almost 10. And we're gonna need all the energy we can once we're there." He finished as he turned the handle to the door. Michael and Mason simply shrugged their shoulders as Michael placed his guitar back in its stand and Mason placed his sticks on his kit carefully as they began to head out the door again.

Quickly turning on his heels, Mason turned back to his tired friend. "What're YOU doing, then?" he asked. James slowly turned his head towards the drummer and yawned once more. "Face fur keeps tickling my nose. I'm just going to get rid of it, and then I'm kicking back. It's our first time in Japan, and I won't how myself for the first time their, with a lousy mustache." He said impatiently as he quickly shut the door, leaving Mason to shrug his shoulders and get back in a seat of his own, leaning it back and slowly slipping into sleep.

James was carefully sliding the blade across his lip, watching his facial hair smoothly fall into the sink. He was all too eager for facial hair in order to improve his overall image, but he didn't want it to look messy and patchy at the same time either. Once he finally got the blade across his lip, he looked loosely, only to find a few obnoxious hair still sticking out right beneath his nose. His calm demeanor turning into a sneer, he started to set the blade to move once more.

However, just as soon as he had started to move it across again, his arm had taken that moment to twitch ever slightly, and cause James to suddenly nick the blade against his lip. The sharp stinging sensation went flying through his whole body. The pain caused him to slap his palm to his lip, squeezing his eyes tight. After only a few seconds, he looked at his palm to see a small smear of blood against his palm. It may have been small, but the fact remained that it was still there. Groaning angrily to himself he grabbed a small tissue nearby, starting to dab at the cut on his lip. However, that was until, the whole plane a sharp lurch downwards, sending James flying off his feet, slamming his skull against the steel ceiling.

All too soon, the silence in the air was replaced with a ringing whirring and whistling sound, filling the entire interior of the plane. James slowly struggled to his feet, his whole skull ringing like mad from the impact to the ceiling. He quickly grabbed the handle for the bathroom door and opened it, only to be blown back by the strongest blast of wind he had ever known. He slowly struggled to open his eyes, due to the constant barrage of wind and struggled even more just to see where he was going. He could definitely feel the plane was going in a downward tilt, due to the changing momentum he was feeling.

Firmly planting his bare feet to the steel wall, he quickly launched himself forward, grabbing firmly onto the edge of the doorway, and trying as hard as possible to pull himself over. He looked everywhere around him, just to see all objects that were not bolted down were either sliding or plummeting down the aisle, and through the curtain doorway. The plane was taking a complete nosedive.

He pulled himself onto the wall, which had now become the floor and looked downward through the curtain to see all loose objects piled down on the wall to the pilots quarters, and worst of all, David, Michael and Mason clinging onto their seats for dear life, with their feet pointing straight behind them, showing they would be blown away lest they either lose their grip, or decide to let go.

James had to know what was going on, and now, lest they all get killed. He firmly pressed his torso to the wall, and reached around the doorway to grab the opposite edge. With as much momentum as possible, he flung himself around, to have his back kiss the wall on the other side. The whining of the engine, and the creaking of solid steel was almost drowning out the screams escaping from David, Michael and Mason. He may not have known much about airplane situations, but what James DID know, was that when the whining wind gets higher pitched, you're definitely getting closer to the surface. That meant he had to act fast, and by fast, that meant NOW!

Pressing the soles of his feet against the wall/ceiling, James launched himself forward, against the current of forced wind, wrapping his arms around the head of the nearest chair he could reach. He knew that if he followed this technique, he just might be able to get to the cockpit in time.

Pulling himself over the chair, and lurching himself down to the next chair, James knew this was the best plan of action. Once he got himself into the next row, he took a second to look out the window, and what he saw explained everything. The right wing was engulfed in an inferno the likes of which he had never seen in any film or documentary. They were just lucky that the plane wasn't cartwheeling; otherwise they'd have already died.

Launching himself to the next row of seats, just behind David, James decided he needed to get his friends somewhere safe for what was to come. Pulling himself over the next row, James grabbed a hold of David's feet, pulling him down to the seat next to him. In the glow of the wings flames, James could see that David was pale with terror.

James quickly took the opportunity to fasten the belt around David's waist. "Grab tight onto the seat, and stay here! I'm gonna try and pull the plane back!" James yelled over the noise, but was surprised with David's pointing finger rising in front of his face. "Too late! Michael!" David responded. James turned to the direction his friend was pointing and was surprised to see Michael pulling himself through the doorway to the cockpit.

'_Well, Michael definitely knows what he's doing. I just have to get Mason somewhere safe.' _James quickly thought to himself as he noticed Mason still clinging onto the seats. Deciding to act fast, he pressed himself to the back of the seats, and launched himself into the opposite row, luckily just behind the panicked drummer.

Hastily grabbing onto Mason's feet, James pulled his blonde friend down into a sitting position against the seat behind him, much like he did with David. "Hang on tight! I need to get to Michael!" he yelled as he turned himself around to the edge of the seats, facing the open doorway to the cockpit. Stretching his arm to grab the edge of the seat in front of him, James proceeded to climb this makeshift ladder down to the cockpit door. Almost as soon as he grabbed the doorframe, James could feel the momentum of the plane begin to pull back, from a straight drop, to a major slant, and then to a basic bend, but still dangerous.

James pulled himself around the doorway to find Michael sitting at the pilot seat, pulling back the steering wheel as hard as he possibly could.

The veins were busting out on Michael's forehead and his hands as he continued to grit his teeth, pulling the wheel back, and pressing his foot to the pedal for the flaps on the wings. James pulled himself over the edge of the co-pilot chair to see the nose of the plane exit from the curtain of clouds, facing a sea of black. "PULL BACK, MICHAEL!" he screamed in a panic.

"HANG ON!!" Michael screamed as he finally slammed his foot to the pedal and almost pulled the steering wheel out of its' socket. With a deafening sound of engine struggle, the plane finally pulled itself back into its' original horizontal state, but a moment too late. Within a heartbeat, the bottom of the plane slammed into the ground with enough force to send the four boys off their feet, flying back and rolling down the aisle. The meshing sounds of scraping and grinding was met with a deafening crunching sound as the wings broke away from the plane, soon followed by the tail fin. The plane began to tilt to its' side while skidding across the ground, and very soon afterwards, the left wall of the plane was torn away, several chairs becoming uprooted from their bolted spots, and flying out of the plane to the ground below. James was still rolling uncontrollably down the aisle until his head crashed against the back wall, knocking his lights out almost instantly. Only a few seconds later did the plane finally come to a stop.

The chaos of this sudden course of events was too much for anyone to handle. Michael had lost consciousness, having blacked out when they hit the ground, David having lost consciousness from a blow to the head by the chair in front of him when he was lurched forward from the impact to the ground. Mason, however, had blacked out when his chair had gotten uprooted from its spot, and he had been cartwheeling across the dirt ground still strapped to his seat. What had once been an empty night sky filled with whines and screams of machines, was now a typical night met with nothing but silence.

7 Hours Later

'…_hey, James! James, wake up! James? Hey, James!_ JAMES!!"

James instantly shot up to find a panic stricken David looking right back at him, looking all around him, like a frightened animal. "What?" James spoke up, only to be met with a surging pain in his skull. Clutching his head in his hands, he let out a painful moan as he tried to take in his surroundings. The plane they had been flying in was in absolute shambles. The entire left wall was gone, and so were almost all the left seats, absolutely all of their belongings were either on the floor, or burning. "Oh, David…what happened?" he muttered pathetically as he tried to stand on his legs, which were almost ready to buckle under his weight.

David slapped his palms to his sides in anxiety as he began to walk down the aisle and motioning to all the destruction with his outstretched hands. "Well, hey man, let me think of where to start. Well, first of all, one of our engines caught on fire, we did a nosedive, you got me and Mason into a secured seat while Michael tried to pull the plane back up, since the pilot was dead because of some broken glass injuries from the shattered windshield. After that, we crashed and did a drag landing for what could be several miles, the wings got disconnected, the wall broke away, Mason fell from the plane, I got hit by the chair in front of me, Michael was unconscious in the middle of the aisle, and I just found you unconscious in the back." He finally finished, collapsing to his knees, completely out of breath.

Needless to say, it took James a few minutes to really process all the vocalist had just told him. When it finally hit a switch inside his head, he realized the seriousness of the situation. For all it was worth, they were completely stranded. "Hey, speaking of which, where ARE Michael and Mason?" he asked, suddenly realizing the guitarist and drummer were nowhere to be found.

"Oh, Michael found Mason trapped inside his seat, stuck inside a small marsh a couple yards from here. As unbelievable as it sounds, Mason isn't hurt all that bad. Just a few cuts. A few bruises as well. Same goes for me and Michael, and apparently, you as well." David spoke up, suddenly calmed down.

James decided to check this out for himself. Luckily, the plane was at enough of a tilt so that he could just walk down the slanted floor and safely meet the ground. Once he was finally back on solid earth again, he took a good look at their surroundings. The sky was bright, so too was the sun. In fact, it was almost blinding. The surrounding area was nothing but flat-rolling grasslands filled with tall grass. When he got a good look at the distance, in a few widely separated spots, he could see some acacia trees as well. "Well, we're definitely in Africa. Acacias don't grow anywhere else." He spoke up to whoever was listening as he continued to scout out the area, his fingers flat over his brow, serving as a protective visor from the sun. When he tried to focus in on the distance, he could just barely make out what looked like a large rock formation that sort of resembled an 'L'.

When he had finally seen enough, James decided to go back to see if he could find Michael and Mason. No problem. Michael was up to his knees in a thick mud trying to unbuckle Mason's seatbelt, since it was apparently jammed from the muck. "Well, just be grateful this isn't quicksand, otherwise I think you'd have to give it up." Michael spoke with a struggling grunt as he once again lost his grip on the belt, and knocked himself flat on his back into the mud. Soon, David began to approach the duo as he reached into his pocket and pulled out what looked like a switchblade. With movements like a snake, he quickly sliced through the bonds of the belt, allowing Mason to lift himself out of the mud, dragging Michael alongside him, finally collapsing on his knees.

"Well, now that we finally got that done, there's only one thing left to take care of." David spoke up as he tucked his knife back into his pocket. He definitely knew how to take control of a situation. That was one of the reasons he became the front man. The three boys all turned their gazes to their bassist, as he began to pace in a circle, clearly thinking of something. "James, you have any clue whatsoever where we are?" Michael spoke up, finally getting himself back onto his feet, then grimacing from the caked on muck all over his legs.

James soon came to a stop and turned to face his friends. "Well, judging from the local plant life, I would make a safe bet that we are somewhere in Africa, or more specifically, the Savannah." He spoke up, motioning to the ocean of grass and the occasional acacia tree patches. Needless to say, this didn't brighten up anyone's mood. "So basically, what you're saying is, we're stranded here, without food or water, without a compass, and that we're in a place, where there are in fact, large predators that could very easily eat us, is that it?" David asked, clearly beginning to lose his temper.

Mason was the first to interject between the two. "No. Listen you guys, first of all, there IS available water, if you look over there." He said, pointing to the distance. The others followed his finger, and of course, there was what looked like a large water hole far off in the distance, not too far from the large 'L' rock. "Second of all, I always have my spare compass in my pocket. I looked at it a few minutes ago. It says that the direction of that huge rock over there, just up ahead, is north." He spoke once more, pulling out said compass for all to see.

However, when the others looked, despair only came down harder. Mason's head must have still been spinning, because the compass was cracked AND bent, and the needle was limp. It wasn't until Michael simply pressed his palm to his forehead in anxiety that Mason noticed this as well. "Well, so much for that plan." Michael muttered as he tried to straighten himself out, trying not to look like he was despairing right now.

Suddenly, James came back into the discussion with what looked like an idea. "Listen you guys, we may not know exactly where we are, and we may not have a working compass, but I have a strategy. If that large rock over there is that big from the distance, then it's got to be gigantic up close. I'll bet, if we went to that rock, we could be able to climb to the top over there. Who knows how far we could be able to see. We might even be able to find a town we could go to." He said, motioning his hands in a way to show that there was no easier way of explaining the plan.

Luckily, the others all got the message. "Ok. I'll buy that. However, what do we do if we run into any carnivores, or spooked wild animals on the way, hmm?" Michael asked, raising one eyebrow, as if he was testing James. The dark haired boy had no time for questions so he pulled out a switchblade of his own from his pocket. "Then we defend ourselves, plain and simple. However, we need to try and avoid a conflict, so we can keep our strength up, alright?" he asked, addressing the whole lot of them. Thankfully, everyone was in an understanding now. "Alright then. Let's move." He spoke up, officially taking the lead.

The sun was beating down upon the four weary travelers mercilessly as they continued to trek through the vast grasslands, ever so slowly getting closer to the giant rock. The heat waves from the ground were probably beginning to play tricks on the dehydrated eyes of the four boys. They could've sworn on several occasions they saw something moving from the grass near them, only to find nothing but ants, grass, and dirt.

Finally, after nearly three hours of nonstop backpacking through the Savannah, Michael finally collapsed, lagging behind the rest of them. "Come on, Michael. Get up. We have to keep moving." Mason spoke in a dried hoarse whisper to their friend. "Guys, we have been trekking for three whole hours, and that stupid mountain doesn't look any closer than it did back at the crash site. It's a mirage. Can't we just, forget it, and just accept the fact that we're gonna die out here?" Michael spoke despairingly, rolling onto his back to face the blinding sun.

Unfortunately, the others were beginning to share his sentiments. James knew the mountain was closer, but what he did not know, was how much longer they could keep going without any water. They all knew that the human body can go no more than 72 hours without water, but this heat must have definitely cut that time in half.

"Come on Michael, don't you quit on us just yet." David moaned as he grabbed Michael's left arm and slung it over his shoulder, carrying the brown haired guitarist. "We're almost there. I can feel it." He said, suddenly trying, yet failing, to pull his friend alongside him.

Mason and James basically knew this was probably a good time to sit down and think things through. "It's over. That's it. Game over, man. Game over. You guys insist on continuing on this ridiculous little hike, and we're gonna die out here if we don't, by some God given miracle, get rescued soon. However, you guys, aren't willing to accept that. Take a look at our situation. Let me go over it for you all." Michael suddenly exploded in a hysterical fit, counting off his fingers.

"One, we have no food. Two, we have no working compass, or device by which we can call for help. Three, we have no water, and besides, that waterhole water is probably another mirage. Four, we're gonna die of heat stroke if we don't find some shade, and I do NOT see any trees nearby. Five, it's only a matter of time until we get found by some hungry carnivore, or angry animal, which will probably kill us. Six, these accursed tsetse flies are driving me crazy, as I'm sure they are all of you, and last but not least, Seven, there's a pair of eyes watching us through the bushes, and it is personally creeping me out!"

David, James and Mason suddenly snapped to attention. "What was that last part you just said, Michael?" Mason asked nervously. "I said, there's a pair of eyes watching…us…through the bushes." Michael slowly spoke, suddenly dawning on what he just said. All four of them slowly turned their heads to where Michael was gazing, and they all paled in fear at a pair of golden eyes staring at the four of them through the reeds.

With the accompanying sound of a twig snapping, signifying that whatever creature those eyes belonged to, was coming closer to them, the four of them instantly leapt to their feet, slowly backing away, while not averting their gaze, so as not to alert the creature. "Wait, guys, hang on. Stop. Don't move. Don't you know, they can't see you if you don't move?" David harshly whispered, looking to his three companions for support.

"David, that was Jurassic Park. This is real life, and second of all, that theory's been discredited for any carnivorous creature." James spoke harshly. It took a few moments for the info to sink in before David simply stated. "Well then, shall we, run for our lives?" he asked in a jokingly polite manner. "Oh yes, let's." Mason responded, before they all instantly jumped on their heels and started to burn rubber.

If only it wasn't for the hollow ground beneath their feet.

Pretty much the instant they started to run, the ground caved in beneath their feet, not only unearthing an underground log of paralyzed wood, but also providing something for the four boys heads to roughly hit, and therefore, knock themselves unconscious. They all collapsed in a pile in the small hole in the ground. However, before slipping completely out of consciousness, James could've sworn he heard a voice speaking from above them. It was a smooth relaxing female voice. He couldn't make out what the voice said, for his hearing had escaped him, as well as all the others.

**Well, there you go. Chapter 1. The story will really kick off by Chapter 2 or 3. Have to find some time to bring a whole introduction to this world, and then the story officially begins. It feels to make something new, and I hope you all will enjoy reading it as much as I have had writing it. Read and review, of course.**


	2. The King And His Pride

**Hey guys. Here's chapter 2 of The Circle Of Life. I want to thank the 32 viewers who have taken the time from their day to check out this story, and here is the reward for them, in case they want more. This chapter is mostly serving to introduce the characters in the LK universe for now, and how our unlikely heroes are going to adapt to this strange new world. Read and review, and do enjoy.**

_'Oooh….my aching head. What happened?'_ David tiredly muttered as he began to regain feeling in his limp body. He was struggling to open his eyes, but what he was able to feel first was that he was flat on his back on what felt like rock. How he got there, he did not have a clue, but he didn't even remember anything that had happened, but he was able to recall a sensation of falling, quickly followed by a sharp blow to his dome.

When he could finally move again, the first thought that came to mind was where his friends were, and better yet, if they were alright. When David tried to get himself back onto his feet, the encroaching silence around him suddenly gave way to a voice directly in front of him. "Do not tire yourself young one. You wouldn't want to knock yourself out again, would you?" The voice had an element of power and strength, yet it also had nobility, and kindness. Needless to say, when David could finally open his eyes, all feelings of calm and peace instantly gave way to unparalleled fear and shock.

Standing proud and tall before the black-haired bespectacled boy was a massive lion towering above him adorned with a brilliant auburn mane and the most powerful golden gaze he had ever seen. However, it doesn't take much to realize that David was more terrified than he was surprised, for almost instantly, he backed away on hands and feet to the wall right behind him. He was sitting face to face with a gigantic lion that could very easily take him out right here, and one isn't usually calm in such a situation. Strangely though, this lion didn't show any sign of wanting to attack the terrified boy. Instead, he looked rather…amused.

"Do not be afraid, I have no intention of hurting you." The lion suddenly spoke in that strong voice. In a heartbeat, David had stopped trying to back away, and had become still as stone. _'D-did that…lion just t-talk? T-that's impossible! Lions can NOT talk!!' _he mentally shouted to himself, clearly even more afraid. However, his curiosity got the better of him, and he found himself responding to this abnormality standing before him. "Y-you…t-talk?" he stuttered, trying very hard to keep his composure. Trying, and failing.

The lion slowly began to approach the black haired boy, trying his best not to frighten him even more. He had a calm, amused smile adorned to his face. "You speak as if you were not expecting me to." He said once more. To his sudden surprise, David instantly struck himself across the face with his own hand. The grand creature looked over the strange human with curiosity and confusion. "Why on earth did you just do that?" he asked the boy, curiosity evident in his tone.

David had merely been trying to see if he was dreaming, and this proved that what he was seeing, and better yet, HEARING, was actually the real deal. "Y-you…you really CAN talk." He muttered in no more than a whisper. In a calm, yet confused manner, David tucked himself into a ball, looking directly at the beast standing before him. "Am I going crazy?" he asked, mostly to himself. Needless to say, the lion answered his question for him. "I can assure you, child, you are not by any means, insane. I take it, you have not seen lions before, correct?" he asked concernedly, laying himself down to be at the same eye level as the boy.

David just managed to shake his head. "I HAVE seen lions, but they don't talk. They mostly just…well, roar." He spoke timidly as he finally decided to uncurl himself into his usually lanky form, sitting against the rock wall. It had basically dawned on him that if this lion had wanted to kill him, it would have taken that chance a long time ago, so this probably meant he was alright, for now.

Finally coming to terms with the situation he was in, he decided to try and make the most of it. Taking a few deep breaths to calm his nerves, David finally took the time to catch up on all that had occurred. "Alright. Uh…I just need to know, first of all…where am I?" he asked, finally deciding to look at all of his surroundings. It looked like a dimmed out cave with a gigantic ceiling way up high. The lion stood himself back up, and David decided to follow suit.

"Well, strange one, as for where you are, you are in Pride Rock, the heart of the Pridelands, which is my kingdom." He spoke politely as David decided to take in all his surroundings. "Wow. So, uh…if I could ask, who are you, then?" he asked again, trying his best not to trip over his words. This wasn't exactly where he would picture himself anytime soon. In a gigantic cave somewhere in Africa. Also talking to a lion of all things. Better yet, he was talking to a lion as if it was a normal thing.

The huge lion bowed his head with a warm smile on his golden face as he began to approach an opening in the stonewall. "I am King Mufasa, ruler of these Pridelands." He responded, only to gain a chuckle from the black haired human in response. "Is something amusing that I do not know of?" he asked, with an almost unnoticeable twinge of irritation evident in his voice. David quickly straightened himself out. "Sorry. I wasn't trying to be rude. It's just, back where my friends and me came from; we were always told that the lion is the king of Africa. I just never thought it would be so literal." He said, now back to his cool, calm and collected demeanor.

Luckily, the king didn't find anything to be angered by with this statement, as he came back to his more welcoming frame of mind and stepped out a large stone path, quickly followed by David. "Well, since you had wanted to know who I am, may I ask, what name may my pride and myself call you by?" he asked the bespectacled boy. David was momentarily taken aback, but quickly got back to normal. "Oh, well, my name is David, so, I guess you could just call me that." He said in a well-mannered way. Luckily, he wasn't scared anymore. Something about this whole situation, for some reason, made him much more calm than usual. He didn't know what it was, but he had a feeling it could be the environment he was currently gazing upon up ahead.

The massive ocean of grass was actually rather beautiful when he wasn't dying of thirst in it. However, looking out upon the grass, he suddenly remembered the one thing still poking at his mind.

"Um, your Majesty, I almost forgot. I just wanted to know…how did I get here?" he asked, needing to get to the topic at hand fast. To his surprise, Mufasa calmly raised a paw to David's face, not losing his calm demeanor. "Well, first of all, we have never seen humans in the Pridelands before. Our shaman and healer, Rafiki had told us tales of your kind before, but nonetheless, your kind are strangers to our kingdom. Anyway, the answer to your question. My mate, Queen Sarabi had gone on the afternoon hunt in the grasslands east of Pride Rock. While out there, she came across you, and three others, apparently hiding in the grass. Needless to say, your presence was rather unexpected. She told me that she had wanted to get a closer look at the four of you. However, you had all gotten scared and tried to run, yet you stepped on hollowed ground and knocked yourselves out from the fall." The king finally finished, waiting patiently for David to process all of this.

Surprisingly, David's reaction was instantaneous. "The three others that were with me. Could you tell me what happened to them?" he asked, clearly worried. Once again, the king remained undeterred in his expression. "Don't worry, David. They are alright. Sarabi and her hunting party brought you here when they had all found you in that hole in the ground. We had Rafiki come and take care of any wounds you and your friends had while you were unconscious." He spoke calmly, turning to look out at the grasslands before them.

"Well, it's not that I'm not grateful for the care, but I really need to know, where are my friends?" he asked, almost on the verge of losing his cool. Almost as if on cue, the sound of feet scraping against the stone caught David's ears, and he turned to see Michael, Mason, and James all slowly stumbling out of the cave, clearly having not taken in their current surroundings. David knew it was only a matter of time before they would take it all in, then panic, especially Michael. At least, that would be the case if he hadn't calmed down since their little episode in the grasslands.

Needless to say, he was very relieved to see his friends were alright, though. "Hey guys. How are you feeling?" he asked nervously, waiting to see if they were going to freak out or not. "Well, for one, I feel like my head has been cracked, branded, and then crudely sewn back together, but other than that, I feel great." James grumbled, rubbing his head and then finally opening his eyes wide to see where they were. It would be a miracle if the whole panic situation could be avoided. Of course, miracles don't happen everyday.

Letting out a terrified yelp (which sounded rather funny from somebody who had a natural bass voice), James collapsed onto his rear, starting to back away, soon followed by a paling Michael, both of which were stuttering unintelligibly. Mason, for some reason, simply remained glued to where he stood, looking intently at David standing alongside this gigantic lion, who almost looked to have some kind of basic understanding with the four of them.

"Guys, guys, calm down, huh?" David said in as soothing a voice as he could muster to his hysterical friends. "David, get away. Don't you know lions eat people?" Michael suddenly shouted out, pointing an accusing finger at Mufasa, unaware of the king's golden eyes watching them intently. "Not just that, but they roam in packs. They'll be everywhere. We run now! NOW!" James shouted, clearly in hysterics.

Surprisingly, through his friends panic, David remained completely undeterred. "It's ok, guys. You're not gonna believe this, but these lions took us here after we knocked ourselves out cold. It's true. They can also talk." He said in a clear mixture of support and excitement. The only thing he got in return was a twin gaze of confusion from both of them.

"David, that's impossible. Lions don't talk, and they certainly don't help other creatures. They took us here to eat us!" Michael shouted, clearly thinking the black haired boy had completely snapped. James' retort was suddenly cut short when the lion they had feared suddenly proved David's theory. "Well, as hard as it may seem for you to believe, I can indeed speak. Also, if we had merely wanted to eat you, we would not have bothered to take you here out of the gaze of the sun. You can both be assured, we do not wish to harm any of you." Mufasa spoke strong and clearly.

To say James and Michael's eyes were dinner plates would clearly be an understatement. If that lion had suddenly spoken their language as clear as day, then they were obviously at a loss for words. "I tried to tell you guys." David said with a shrug of his shoulders as Mason wordlessly approached the king of the Pridelands.

"So…you took us all the way here, to help us?" he asked straightforwardly, clearly a little confused. David breathed a sigh of relief. At least Mason remained as cool, calm and collected as ever. Mufasa simply nodded his head in response to the blonde boy's question. "To be honest, I didn't. Sarabi, my mate had found you all out there in the plains and had her hunting party carry you all here out of the sun. We had our healer take care of the wounds you all had." He answered calmly to the newest additions of this little soirée.

Finally, after thinking over everything that was being force-fed to them, James and Michael finally decided to stand and certify everything themselves. "So…your…uh, mate, was the eyes we saw in the bushes?" James asked confusedly, still rubbing his aching scalp. Clearly a blow to a steel roof, and then a blow from a hard old log wasn't a good combination.

"I was not there myself, but chances are most likely that she was indeed the one you saw. She told me about the whole experience. She and the other hunting parties should return shortly, so you could be able to ask her yourselves. However, there is one thing I wish to know from all of you." He spoke firmly.

David knew that this was time for them to get serious. He recognized the tone of authority when he heard it. Mason, Michael and James quickly made a beeline to their friend as the king looked at all of them with a firm and powerful glare. This obviously meant he knew how to inspire attention when he needed to. Clearly a good trait for a king. "I want to know, what is your purpose for being here?"

Right there, at that very moment, the four boys were momentarily stumped. For a second, none of them could remember how they even got to this strange new world. Then, out of the blue, it came back with full force. The plane. The only problem in telling that story, was explaining something as complicated as air travel, and crash landings to an animal, even if said animal WAS incredibly intelligent. However, they didn't want to face what consequences could be waiting if they didn't answer the king. Silently promising to all tell their story, the four boys stepped forward. Michael took another step forward, and decided to start.

"Well, it all started just the night before today. You see, we came here from up in the skies." He said as sensibly as he could, motioning to the clear blue skies overhead for reference. "We came in…well, a giant bird you could say." He continued, mentally slapping himself for talking on such nonsensical levels. However, he knew that nonsensical situations required just as absurd explanations.

Mason quickly took a step forward beside Michael, clearly wanting to continue for his friend. "You see, where we come from, we have birds, like what you no doubt have here, only they come in sizes you couldn't even begin to imagine. These birds carry our kind great distances, all across the entire world. However, the bird we were riding on, encountered a problem." He said, speaking as if he was talking to another human entirely. Once again, like with everything else he did, Michael, James and David were dumbstruck. Mason was pretty much always prepared for absolutely ANY situation apparently.

"That's right. Last night, the bird was…injured by some means we don't know of. Either way, the bird began to fall from the sky, with us still on it. If we hadn't done anything, we would have all died." James spoke up, joining his two other companions. David decided to finish their story and stepped forward. "Yeah. Our friend Michael tried to calm the bird and help turn its stomach to the ground. Since we're still alive, he obviously succeeded." He finished, placing a congratulatory hand on Michael's shoulder. "So, that's how we got here. As for why we're here, we came here completely by accident. We have no food, no water, and no way to call for help. We don't know where to go, nor do we have anywhere to go." Mason spoke solemnly.

"However, you have our deepest thanks for helping us the way you did, your Majesty." David added, catching the others off guard with his title for the lion they had just told their whole situation to.

When they turned their attention back Mufasa, they were surprised to see the surprised expression on his face. Quietly, and slowly, the great lion spoke up. "I believe I may have seen what you speak of." He said, to their surprise. "Last night, I came to check around the Pridelands for any troubles that may have needed assistance, and I heard the strangest noise coming from the stars. When I looked, I saw a creature I had never seen before plummeting from the night sky swallowed in flying flames. I was too shocked to act, but the entire Pridelands shook when the creature hit the ground. Was that the creature you all speak of?" he asked, clearly wanting an answer right now.

The boys instantly responded with a unanimous nod of the head. "That's exactly what it was. Do you know if anyone else could have noticed it when it happened?" Michael asked in mere curiosity. It was refreshing for the others to see he had finally returned to his calm, yet no-nonsense self.

"Well, as I had told you, the entire Pridelands shook when the creature you came on hit the ground. The entire pride had seen the whole happening as well. Some of the lionesses were still rather shaken from the whole event this afternoon before leaving for the hunt. However, with you all here, you could be able to finally calm their nerves." Mufasa explained, finally returning to his all too familiar warm expression.

Luckily the boys all nodded their heads to the lion king in understanding. They decided that if things were as bad as they thought, chances for rescue would be slim to none. If that was the case, wallowing about it wouldn't help. Making the best of the situation would, however.

"Now, the only thing I need to know now, are the names of your companions, David." He spoke, much less seriously now. Clearly, this had gotten Mason, James and Michael's attention, turning to David. It clearly didn't occur to them at the moment that he hadn't already given his name in their absence. Either way, dwelling on it was pointless, so they might as well have gotten used to it. Straightening themselves out to make themselves look more presentable, they stepped forward and quickly bowed down with their heads down.

"My name is James." James spoke up, trying to sound as respectful as he was capable of.

"Mine is Mason." Mason said in an overly courteous and aristocratic way he could manage. David and James couldn't help but slightly chuckle at this.

"Well, I don't know if you had already guessed it, but I am Michael." The bearded boy spoke in the perfect polite tone.

Surprisingly, the great lion they were currently bowing before gave a bit of a laugh and raised a huge paw in a rising manner. "Please, you don't need to bother yourselves with the formalities. Know that you don't have to bow or call me 'Your Majesty'. You can all just call me Mufasa." He spoke in a surprisingly warm manner for royalty. The boys were probably expecting him to have a massive ego, due to his title as 'king'.

They didn't have much time to think through of all this, because only a few moments later, Mufasa had come between the four of them, approaching the edge of the stone platform they stood upon, looking intently out to the grasslands. The four weary humans decided to see what was going on, just in time to see a large number of lionesses steadily approaching there location from the plains, a few of them carrying what looked like an antelope and a zebra on their backs. It didn't take much for the boys to register that this was the hunting party, finally back from…well, hunting.

Suddenly, at the most unexpected moment, Mufasa let out the most powerful and nearly deafening roar any of them had ever imagined hearing up close and personal. _'Maybe that's his way of calling a family meeting.' _David thought to himself with a chuckle while his head was still ringing non-stop. Almost instantly, all the lionesses had dropped their dead prey at the base of a big stone slope, which was probably the entrance to this huge slab of rock. Just as quickly as David thought they would, all the lionesses rushed up the slope and soon formed a large circle around the king and the four human boys. Michael and James couldn't help but notice the many frightened looks they all were receiving, but it had to be expected. Humans probably weren't the norm around here.

Just as soon as they had formed, one lioness came to take a spot right next to the king. Her fur was a darker shade of tan, and the warm expression on her face clearly reflected a natural motherly factor. Clearly she was Mufasa's mate, the one reason the four of them weren't dead out in the grasslands right now. The very first thing they all noticed was her sharp gold-ish orange eyes. That clearly proved this was the same lioness they had encountered all the way back in that grassy hell.

Michael was the one to react the most to this discovery. Apparently, he still had a bit of jumpiness inside him, and he clearly was losing his composure. However, that tension was almost instantly broken when the sound of a scuffle broke through the circle, and Mason and James instantly noticed two lion cubs rolling across the ground, clearly fighting with each other, but the laughing clearly meant they were playing, albeit roughly.

Suddenly, Mufasa spoke out powerfully and strictly. "Simba, Nala, that is enough!" Just as the boys had expected, the cubs stopped fighting almost instantly and instantly separated to their respective parents. The cub with the darker golden coat instantly ran to Mufasa and Sarabi, sitting intently between the two of them. His eyes were the same brilliant gold of Mufasa's, and he looked like he was just barely growing a bit of a mane on the top of his head. They were just making a shot-in-the-dark guess, but this was probably the one called Simba. The cub with the bright tan coat, which they basically deduced was Nala instantly ran to a lone lioness in the circle. She didn't have any noticeable qualities different from the other lionesses, except for her brilliant blue eyes.

For a reason the boys didn't understand, nobody, not even the king or his queen or the cubs said anything. The tension they could feel in the air could be cut with a knife at this point. Only a second later did Michael suddenly notice an empty spot in the circle the pride had formed. He had begun to wonder what it was there for when Mufasa suddenly spoke, in more of an annoyed mutter rather than a full-blown statement. "*sigh* Scar is late, again. I guess we'll have to tell him later." He whispered mainly to himself before he finally returned to his professional stance as the king of the pride.

"Everyone, I have important news to share with you all. Obviously, the four humans you have all found in the Pridelands are here before us. I have called you all here to tell you what there is for you to know of these four boys. First of all, their names are David, Michael, James and Mason, and we shall all refer to them as such. This is our first encounter with humans in the Pridelands, and I will not have them referred to as anything but their own name. As long as they are here, they are no more, no less important than all the creatures in the Pridelands." He stated powerfully so as to get his point across.

This was a rather unusual "council meeting" they were caught up in the middle of, but deep down, the four weary humans couldn't help but feel a little bit flattered, to already be spoken of so highly by the king of this entire pride. Thankfully, all the lionesses looked rather understanding of the conditions of their kings' decree, and rather understanding on a personal level. _'Guess this means we're more than welcome here.' _James thought thankfully to himself.

"Furthermore, I know you are all still rather concerned with the unusual events of last night, and I am happy to say that you all have no need to fear anything out there in the kingdom. Our human visitors have told me of the means by which they arrived here in our Pridelands, and they shall tell you all what they have told me." He said calmly and informatively as he turned his attention from the pride, to the four humans in the center.

Ignoring the attentive gaze of a creature as grand as a lion, is a difficult task already, but trying to not notice the attentive gaze of a lion that was clearly expecting something of you was impossible. Knowing this for a fact, the four boys readied themselves, stood shoulder to shoulder so as to face the entire pride, and proceeded to tell their entire story, just as they had told Mufasa only minutes ago, turn by turn, from the explanation of flight, to their instantaneous crash landing. To even help clear the air of absolutely any confusion, Mufasa stepped in and explained that this was just what they had seen the night before, so as to ease the pride of their worries. Thankfully, it worked.

By the time the four friends had finally ended their story, explaining the desperation of their current situation, the entire pride was filled with expressions of either amazement, or pity. A few moments of awkward silence hung over all present as the orange rays of the sun began to disappear behind the Savannah, the sky beginning to sparkle with millions of stars, accompanied with the glow from the full moon. Only moments later did Mufasa break the silence once more. "It is all too clear to all of us here, that you four, still only children, have been through a great deal in such a short amount of time. While you have the sympathies of myself, my family, and the pride, at the same time, you have clearly gained the respect of us all for the courage you all had displayed when facing what could very well have been your end. It must have been terrifying, to experience what you all had, but it is a commendable feat to face such danger for the sake of those you care about." Mufasa stated for David, Mason, Michael and James and the entire pride to hear.

Unanimously, all the pride nodded their heads in agreement to their king. "You all must be very weak and worn from what you have had to endure. In recognition for the bravery you had all shown, you are welcome to stay here for as long as you like. Do any of you have any objections to this?" he asked, referring to both the pride, and the humans.

Thankfully, none of the pride said anything. They all seemed to agree with their king that these four strangers had undergone enough for a while. As for said humans, they didn't see anything to object about. Michael wasn't all that comfortable with living with an entire pride of lions, and neither was James, but they seemed to be pretty welcoming, and in the case of their king, rather friendly. Plus, they were too worn out to really keep traveling, so this was what would be best.

"Then it is agreed. As of this moment, you are all considered members of the Pridelands." Mufasa finally finished, signing the end of this get together with another powerful roar, which was met with a unison of roars from all the lionesses, leaving the four boys clutching their ringing heads once again, but dealing with it. When the lions had all begun to disperse to the kills from the hunt at the foot of the slope, Mason suddenly noticed the pitch-black sky, and the watch around his wrist. "Wow. That lasted a lot longer than I thought." Michael said in a yawn as he looked over Mason's shoulder.

"Yeah. I don't know about you guys, but crashing your own plane, knocking yourself out on a petrified log, learning that lions are intelligent and can speak is a bit too much for me." James said in agreement with Michael. "I'm just gonna try and find someplace to sleep back inside. If they are expecting us to…well…eat those animals with them, please tell them I don't mean to be rude by refusing." Michael said to David and Mason as he and James began to walk back into the opening of the rock wall. David and Mason made a quick glance at each other, momentarily thinking what the best course of action was, and almost instantly, Mason turned on a heel, and began to walk down the rock slope to the other lions. "Sorry, man, but I for one am starving, and I actually know what to do with wild animal meat." He spoke up to David as he disappeared from the black haired boys sight.

David started momentarily turning his gaze from the slope, to the cave, and back and forth, trying to ignore the growling coming from his stomach. Finally he bowed his head, raised it back up, shrugged his shoulders, and quickly followed after Mason. He knew they would have to adapt to this kind of lifestyle if they were gonna survive.

**Well guys, there's the second chapter. I meant to make chapter 2 and 3 in one day, but I'll have plenty of time tomorrow to continue this story by several chapters, depending on what happens over the day. I found it kind of difficult to keep Mufasa in character, in the frame of a wise and powerful king, kind-hearted, yet not afraid to command attention and authority when he needs to. However, I think I did a decent job at it. Anyway, Read and review, please. It took me seven hours to finally get this chapter just right. Thank you all.**


	3. The Gift Of Music

**Hello everyone. I haven't checked to see exactly how many people have stopped by to read, but for those of you who have taken time out of their day to read this, I give you my thanks. So, here is your reward: Chapter 3. I've really been looking forward to this particular chapter, because this will be my first experience writing in a foreign language. Don't worry, that doesn't mean this whole chapter is written in that way. Just don't forget, the four boys are from completely different nations back in the human world, and as such, there'll be moments where they speak their own native language. I already have a very proud moment for Michael in the future. Anyway, enough of my ranting. You've all waited, and now you shall receive. Enjoy.**

The small and silent tweeting of early morning birdsflew through the skies hanging over the plains of The Savannah. The sun hadn't even risen yet, leaving the sky a majestic and deep purple hue. The entire sea of grass that made up the Pridelands was completely still and silent, and the powerful stone monolith of Pride Rock was no different. Within the hollowed tall standing stone, the many lions that made up the ruling pride lay scattered across the ground, the king and his own family on the highest standing podium, almost like a natural throne. However, what one would not have expected to see, were four humans laying side by side in a darker corner of the massive cave.

The all too natural atmosphere of morning did not go unnoticed by one. James tiredly opened his eyes, rubbing his knuckles to them to shake off the nagging want for more sleep. Sitting himself up straight, not making a sound, he shut and opened his eyes several times to finally clear his vision, and his expression suddenly switched to surprise to see his surroundings, but once he got back to the wall, he suddenly calmed back down again. The memories of the day before had all come back to him. The plane crash, their pointless hike through the plains, and getting rescued by an entire pride of lions, when they had all been overwhelmed with the fear of getting eaten. Above all else, these same lions could speak, and had actually accepted he and his friends into their kingdom.

Giving one tired yawn, stretching out his arms, the thick haired human stood himself up and carefully made his way to the opening of the cave, leading to the stone podium out front, careful not to step on any sleeping lionesses in the way. Once he had made his way outside, he carefully gazed across the entire view of the Pridelands that was available from this spot. In all retrospect, despite all he and his friends had experienced, he had to appreciate the calm and serene beauty this land had. For a moment, one could say he envied these majestic creatures for having the luxury of living in these settings all the time.

Over the years, for as long as he could remember, he had grown rather tired of the human world. Everything was bad and getting worse. Pollution, war, urban violence, the works. James had grown so tired of it all, that he even stated out loud on several occasions that he had lost all hope in mankind, only finding a medium in music.

A brief thought had occurred to him, that maybe he and his friends' being here wasn't just a coincidence. Maybe, whatever powers that be, decided to give him and his friends an entirely new experience. Deep down, James always had a hunger for adventure, and he knew that was more easily accessible out here, in the wild, untouched by the evil masses of humankind.

Turning his gaze to the east, where the sun was ever slowly making its way over the horizon, probably in the next couple hours, James could just barely make out the tiny protruding silhouette of their grounded plane. Popping some joints in his back in another stretch, James straightened himself out and began to walk down the stone slope of Pride Rock, and began walking through the grasslands, towards the wreck. It would take a good three hours, but luckily, because the land was perfectly flat for the most part, he didn't have to worry about getting lost. He knew just where he was going.

Feeling the gentle brush of the tall grass against his arms and whatever of his legs was exposed through the holes in his jeans, James, for the first time in a very long while, felt free. Feeling the cold air of early morning against his face, he finally decided to let this moment count for something. Stopping in his tracks, he closed his eyes and imagined the graceful image of his own lifelong idol, Roger Daltry, running through the grass like a man who had just learned the secret of life. Finally opening his eyes, as if he had encountered a similar kind of awakening, he instantly broke into the most energetic and free spirited sprint he could possibly be capable of.

The air was flying through him and underneath his arms, almost giving the sensation of flying when he had made a few leaps along the way. He had never taken the theory of time flying in times of joy seriously, until now. Before he even knew it, he was already there at his destination, standing beside the destroyed flying machine. It would be a lie to say he wasn't a little disappointed. He had felt truly free for the first time, and at this point, it was already over. Sighing quietly to himself, James slowly climbed into the tilted and grounded bird and reached up to a closed compartment above one of the still-bolted chairs.

James always had one special possession of his own with him wherever he went. He treasured it so much, he never even let his friends know of its existence. Opening the compartment, James' expression grew into one of joy as he reached inside. Despite his position and talent at playing a bass, there was ONE other instrument he had just as much skill at, and he was holding it. It was a simple, but perfectly constructed acoustic guitar. Whenever he was sure he was alone, he would always play this in his spare time. The only other thing he never told his friends was that he had always wanted a chance to sing as well.

However, he never got that chance, because, despite his skills at speaking English, it still wasn't his natural tongue. He never understood why himself, but he was just fine speaking it when he was just talking, but when it came to singing, he could never bring himself to be able to do it. However, he took that chance whenever he had his time alone. Obviously, this moment was perfect. Sliding himself back down to the dusty earth, he quickly sat himself down, hidden in the tall grass. _'Just for a few minutes, then I'll put it back and hopefully get back before anyone notices I'm gone.'_ He thought to himself, looking in all directions to make sure he really was alone, he closed his eyes, set the wooden instrument on his legs, plucked one string with the nail of his thumb, and began to very quietly sing. It was the one song that always brought a smile to his face. He always thought this was the most beautiful song in the world.

_"Hallo _

_Gibt es jedes innen dort_

_Nicken Sie einfach, wenn Sie mich hören können_

_Gibt es jedermann zu Hause"_

Suddenly, James stopped playing, opened his eyes and cautiously looked around. He didn't know why, but he had suddenly lost that feeling of being completely alone. So far, he didn't see anything unusual, but continued directing his eyes left and right, trying to catch sign of any movement. Deciding to keep his eyes and ears peeled for any disturbances, he hit the first string again, mouthed his previous words, and continued.

_"Jetzt angegangen_

_Ich höre, dass Sie sich unten fühlen_

_Gut kann ich Ihre Schmerz erleichtern_

_Erhalten Sie Sie auf Ihren Füßen wieder"_

Suddenly, he caught the sound of a twig snapping. Quickly jumping onto his feet, in a weak attempt to show whatever was out there that they were no longer going to get him by surprise. Once again, however, there was nothing to be seen, nor was anything moving. Finally confirming it wasn't safe to stay here, James tried to keep calm, turning on his heels and slowly walking back to the distant Pride Rock, not even thinking of putting his guitar back in the plane. At this point, he didn't care. He needed something to calm his nerves. Keeping his eyes peeled to all sides ahead of him, preparing to run for it if he heard anything else, he carefully hit the first string again, and took a deep breath and continued with his song. However, the settling fear in his gut was making him lose his spot.

_"Es gibt keine Schmerz, die Sie empfangen_

_Ein entfernter Schiffsrauch auf dem Horizont_

_Sie kommen nur durch in Wellen_

_Ihre Lippen bewegen sich, aber ich kann nicht hören, was Sie sagen _

_Als ich ein Kind warAARGGHH!!" _he suddenly screamed when he felt something jump onto his back, costing James his momentum, sending him and his attacker tumbling down from the top of the rolling hill he had gotten to the top of. Once he had finally stopped rolling, James was squirming and wriggling like an earthworm and screaming bloody murder as he finally managed to get his assailant to let go as he instantly got onto his back, only to get jumped again. Finally, he was finally able to get a good look at his attacker.

He was more than surprised to find the dark golden cub from yesterday at Pride Rock, Simba, looking down at him with excitement and an air of accomplishment. The small cub instantly jumped off as the startled human got back up, his heart still racing a mile a minute. "I got you good, right?" Simba asked, sounding rather hopeful. He obviously was very proud of nearly scaring the human into a heart attack.

James steadily got to his feet, his face still pale with fear. "Good? You nearly scared me to death back there!" he shouted, sounding angrier than he had meant to be. Noticing that he was coming off as rather frightening to the kid, he quickly regained his calm and decided to clear this thing up. "What are you doing out here, anyway? Isn't it dangerous for little guys like you to be out alone? I came out here by myself." He said, trying to get an answer. It didn't take long for James to get his answer. "I woke up from the noise you made backing into the wall. I was wondering where you were going, so I followed you." Simba told him, clearly still excited from their little struggle mere seconds ago, and still very proud of having won.

James sighed in relief. "Oh. Well, alright. I had a feeling something was watching me. All I want to know, is why you were chasing me when I was leaving, and better yet, why you jumped me." He asked the small lion, clearly still annoyed. As he began to make his way back to Pride Rock, Simba stayed pacing beside him, that excited grin never leaving his face. _'Just like a little kid is supposed to look like.' _James thought amusedly to himself.

"Well, it was getting boring just watching, so I wanted to try pouncing. See if I could surprise you." Simba said proudly, starting to run ahead and leaping forward onto a small rock in the grass, clearly reenacting how he pounced the human boy. At this point, James was actually chuckling at the sight. In his eyes, Simba was definitely what children were meant to be like. Energetic, playful, without a care in the world. In that moment, he would've given anything to be that way again. "Well, if you're going to practice pouncing, maybe you should ask your mom or dad to show you, seeing as you made quite a bit of noise earlier." He responded with an amused laugh.

He felt a little guilty for slightly lowering Simba's spirits when he looked a little disappointed at this statement. "Don't worry, though. Despite making a little sound, the fact is, you still got me, and that means you might get better when you get older." He told the young lion supportively, fortunately regaining his spirits. "You really think so?" Simba asked him hopefully. "Yes, I do." James responded kindly. He had always been good speaking and interacting with younger children. This basically meant ANY children now.

As James and Simba continued to make their way back home, a thought came over the humans mind. "Hey Simba, just out of curiosity, is Mufasa your father?" he suddenly asked the young lion. "I'd been wondering ever since yesterday when you went to stand beside him and your mother." He finished, although mentally berating himself for asking a stupid question like that. It was painfully obvious. "Yeah. Dad says that I'm going to be king after him." Simba replied, clearly more excited than ever. James had to be expecting that. It's not every kid that gets to be royalty.

"In fact, Dad promised that today he's gonna take me to show me the whole kingdom so he can teach me how to be king." Simba continued, an atmosphere of pride and anticipation radiating from him. "It's going to be so fun being king. I'll get to do whatever I want without getting in trouble, and everyone will have to do what I tell them to." He finally finished. That statement couldn't help but irk James the slightest bit. "Well, I don't mean to pry, Simba, but you need to know that being king isn't all about getting what you want when you want it." He suddenly responded, a wise and intelligent, almost, prophetical tone resounding from him. "There are responsibilities that come with that kind of power. When you become king, people will be expecting you to take charge when trouble presents itself. Your father no doubt has problems to take care of whenever he goes out here, and you will have to experience the same thing." He finally finished, hoping the cub would take his words into consideration.

He didn't know what to make of the silence he was getting from Simba as a response. _'Has he even listened to a word I said?' _he thought to himself, clearly irritated. When he glanced down to see if Simba was maybe in thought, he was a little surprised to see the young lions gaze was on none other than the wooden instrument he didn't even realize he was still holding. "What is that thing in your hands?" Simba suddenly asked, clearly eager to find out. James gave a good look over of the guitar in his hands, for two reasons.

One, to see if it was damaged in any way, shape, or form. Luckily, it was only a little dirty. Two, to try and figure out how he should start the in-depth explanation he really had been trying to avoid. Letting out a heavy sigh, he suddenly sat himself down and placed the instrument on his legs again. "Well…if you had been watching me for as long as you say you have, and had been listening, then you probably already know it makes…"

"Yeah, I heard it makes music." Simba suddenly finished, catching James completely off guard. "Wait…you know what music is?" he asked the lion cub, completely amazed. Simba simply nodded, that pride-filled grin on his face once again. He was clearly proud of the fact that he was smarter than the human thought he was. It took a few minutes for James to really put that shocking piece of info to rest as he regained his composure. "Well…me and my friends…where we come from, we all make music, for other humans to hear. It's definitely not the kind you've probably heard, though." He explained, not believing the fact that he was talking music semantics to an animal, rather than another person.

Quickly, clearing his throat, James got back to the task at hand. "Well, uh…this thing, is what we humans call, um…a guitar. Now, you might want to sit down for this, because this will probably take a while to explain." He quietly spoke, clearly embarrassed at how unprofessional he sounded right now. Slowly getting more and more into his explanation, James began the teaching of a lesson he couldn't believe he was giving, considering just where he was. It must have taken a few hours for him to get all he knew out of his head before he was finished. He figured this because the sun was brightening the sky behind them. He quickly got back onto his feet.

When he looked, he couldn't help but feel quite irked when he saw Simba was actually sleeping. Looking very irritated at the sky above, he couldn't help but sneer. _'Are you seriously saying that I bored Simba into unconsciousness? The first time I get to explain the concept of music, and my audience falls asleep on me?'_ he mentally shouted in fury as he looked back down at the small lion as he was just beginning to wake up. James' expression was slowly regaining its original calm demeanor. _'I don't have a right to get mad at him. He's just a kid. It's not like I was any different when I was little.' _He finally thought to himself as he leaned down and snapped his fingers to grab Simba's full attention. "You fell asleep, little guy. I guess I should save the long lessons for when you're older." He said with a warm smile as he got back up straight. "Come on. Let's get back home before everyone wonders where we are." He offered as he began to walk, Simba eagerly staying at his side.

By the time they finally got back to Pride Rock's slope, the sky was turning a brighter purple. Sunrise would come in just a few minutes. As James began to walk, Simba suddenly asked him a question he hadn't been expecting to be asked this soon. "Hey, James? I know Dad said you and the other guys could stay here as long as you wanted. I was wondering…are you all gonna stay here with us?" he asked him. James wasn't sure if his ears were playing tricks on him, but at that moment, did he just hear a little bit of hope in Simba's voice?

After thinking over every detail there was to consider in a matter of seconds (the crash, their homes, their futures, people only wanting them for their music, families who merely used them…a shallow existence, an endless road of work and possible failures, the decreasing state of society in the human world) James finally lifted his head, strong and firmly, a shine of certainty in his eyes. He steadily turned and knelt down to be at the same eye level as Simba.

"Yes. Yes we are. There's nothing for any of us back in our world. You know, ever since we came here, I've felt happy for the first time in a very long time. We're going to stay. If they aren't willing to stay, I promise you that I am. We'll stay here for as long as you and the rest of the pride wants us to." He said firmly, with a slight trace of unparalleled joy in the back of his voice. They hadn't even been here a whole day, and already, this little cub, who he hardly even knew anything about was asking if he and his friends would stay with them, as if they were family.

The look on Simba's face at that split second was the happiest he had ever seen any child ever give. He looked not only overjoyed, but absolutely ecstatic. "Alright! This is so cool!" he yelled out happily as he instantly started running up the slope back to the stone podium. James couldn't help but feel his heartstrings tug a bit. It really did him good to see a kid so happy. Taking in the fresh air of a new day, he slowly made his way back up the slope to see Simba excitedly running into the cave of Pride Rock just as Michael, Mason and David tiredly made their way out of the cave, walking out onto the stone formation.

"Hey, James. We just woke up and realized you weren't there. So where were you?" David asked in a yawn as Mason and Michael were busy loosening their joints, stretching. "Oh, I just went out to get some fresh air. Anyway, you guys never wake up this early alone. So, what's up?" he asked his friends as he steadily made his way back into the cave. "Oh, we woke up so we could get a little energy before the day starts. Besides, we felt that we should at least do something to make ourselves useful, so we decided we're gonna go hunting with the lionesses this afternoon." Mason announced tiredly as James couldn't help but notice Michael shiver in discomfort.

"Well, good luck with that. I've got some extra rest to catch up on. You guys do whatever it is you're doing." He responded as he finally disappeared into the caves. Making his way to an empty spot to rest in, James couldn't help but hear Simba trying to wake up Mufasa by either talking right into his ear or by pulling on it. It was a nice, amusing sight for him to see as he got himself back into his position against the wall and slowly shut his eyes. He began to reflect on everything he was part of right here, right now. All these lions were in retrospect, one big, interacting family, and at this moment, he and David, Michael and Mason had become a part of that family. However, ever since what he had decided only minutes ago, for the first time in a while, James actually felt, deep down, like he had never left home to begin with. More like, he had actually returned home for the first time.

**Well, there you have it. I personally am really proud of this chapter, not only for the German singing, but also for being able to keep Simba in character, in the light of an energetic and playful kid with much to learn. **

**Oh, and for those of you who are wondering, the song James is singing is actually the first verse, and half of the chorus for 'Comfortably Numb' in German. Anyway, read and review, because Chapter 4 is also on the way. We'll get to see how David and Mason are going to do while hunting with the lionesses.**


	4. The Thrill Of The Hunt

**Hello everyone. Wow, I think this is the first time I've EVER gotten two chapters for any story out in one 24 hours. Anyway, I want to give my deepest thanks to all those who've decided to stick with this story to see where it's going to go next. Well, my deepest thanks go to my two regular reviewers, hikari123 and prince-of-pride. As I continue to write this story as snow pounds at my window and the only light provided other than by computer is by candle, I want you to know that I write for all of you. Anyway, here is chapter 4. Now, we shall get to see how Mason and David are going to do while out hunting. Enjoy.**

David and Mason, having agreed to try and make themselves useful to the pride that was so generously providing them and their friends with shelter while out here in the Savannah, had decided to take some time out of the morning to prepare whatever supplies hunting in the wild would require. David revealed he had a history of possessing no spear-throwing skills due to a bad shoulder, so Mason had agreed to take care of spears.

They both knew that as humans, they would never be able to move as swiftly as a lion, but what they lacked in physical speed, they could definitely make up for in distance hunting. As the magnificent sun had broken over the horizon, consuming all the Pridelands in its morning light, the two humans decided to head for a nearby tree to get ready.

Soon finding a decent acacia tree, it was time to get some wood. Refusing to bring David's knife with him, as it wouldn't be able to cut through a branch fast enough, Mason quickly clung onto said tree, and was impressively quick with scaling it to the nearest branch. Within one or two minutes, Mason had gotten a firm grip onto a thick sturdy tree branch, dangling with his feet over the ground. Without any form of a struggle, Mason quickly began to shift his body to his hands, moving in a rough bouncing-dangle motion. David was soon able to see what he was doing. He was prying it off the tree.

As soon as he had come to this conclusion, Mason had already fallen neatly onto the ground with an entire branch of a tree at his feet. "Mason, tell me, how are you able to do that without losing your grip or tiring out your arms?" David asked as he handed his knife to his blonde friend as he began to cut away at the large branch. "Oh, well, my hometown was in the countryside. Luckily, we had a bunch of trees. As you would suspect with a simple farming town, there wasn't all that much to do aside from farm work. That alone helped build up my arms and back, and I got used to scaling trees and using momentum to take down branches in case my father ever needed extra firewood." Mason quietly responded as he was more focused on getting the end of the makeshift spear to be able to penetrate hide.

David gave a simple nod of his head to show an understanding. "You know, that kinda reminds me of the park I used to go to back in Rome. The kids would always climb the trees and hide in the leaves in the branches. Of course, the police didn't appreciate that at all. They used to get so mad at us, they would even have to shake the trees in groups to literally shake us out." He said, already laughing fondly as he looked over at the morning sun, clearly reminiscing on said times. Mason couldn't help but give off a small laugh of his own, just imagining the thought of men in uniform shaking bundles of children out of trees like apples. God, how he missed those little red treasures. He was already getting hungry just thinking about them.

After a few more minutes of peaceful silence, Mason quickly tossed the knife back to the bespectacled boy as he held out the freshly carved spear he had just finished. "So, if you were to guess, what do you think? Think it could penetrate animal hide at all?" he asked his friend, clearly wanting his own opinion. Straightening the small glasses on the bridge of his nose, the black haired boy leaned forward to take a closer look. The handle was good and straight, so there wouldn't be the problem of it snapping in half if Mason would have to pull it out for future use. Looking closely at the sharpened end, he carefully brought the end of his finger to the very point, a noticeable prick making him pull his finger back.

Looking closer, David noticed a small spot of blood quickly grow on the tip of his finger. "Oh yeah. I hardly even put any pressure whatsoever on that thing." He responded, giving a bit of a sarcastic laugh to emphasize his answer. Looking at his friend who was already practicing the right kind of throwing technique, practicing only with his arms, David got back to his feet. "Ok, so you're a master at climbing trees, and you're also experienced in carving. Tell me, Mason. How do you learn all of these things? More importantly, how is it you always manage to keep such a positive attitude, no matter what kind of situation we're in?" he finally asked incredulously.

Mason looked at his friend as if he was talking crazy, then he simply shrugged his shoulders and got back to practicing his throwing with his shoulders. "I'm sure you're probably expecting some kind of horrific childhood memory to have psychologically scarred me, and drove me to be happy on the outside. Well, surprisingly enough, David, no such thing happened. I just know that things back in our world aren't exactly the best, and they tend to bring everybody down. I personally tell myself to always look on the bright side. Trust me David, as crazy as it sounds, there's a bright side to everything. It doesn't matter how bleak and hopeless it may look. There's always something to brighten your spirits, and that's all I focus on." He said, as if he was merely talking about everyday weather with his neighbor. "Oh, and as for how I know how to do all the things I do, there's no clearer answer I can give you, rather than, years of practice." He finished, turning his attention back to his visionary practice.

David, to say the least, was amazed. He knew Mason wasn't the kind to be brought down easily, but hearing his theory on how to live, was something completely different. Earlier, Mason had hit the mark exactly. David HAD been expecting something tragic to have something to do with it, like a kind of mental disorder. However, he wasn't even close. Up to this point, he had never even thought that option of life could even be played anymore. Apparently, though, Mason just proved that it indeed could.

After another few minutes of uncomfortable silence, Mason quickly grabbed his makeshift weapon and turned his attention to back to his friend. "Well, David, one last thing to clear up is what we'll use out there. I've got this spear, and that'll help take care of anything out there from a distance, but what are YOU going to use? That shoulder of yours keeps you from spear-throwing, so what'll you do?" he asked his friend, really wanting to see what the bespectacled boy was planning on doing. "David quickly reached into his back pocket and pulled out what looked like a combat knife in pristine order.

"I'm going to use this. This knife was passed down my family since the first World War. It's an heirloom, and I plan on putting it to good use. Besides, you've seen how silently I can move." He told his friend, giving a bit of a mischievous sideways grin, looking at Mason intently. Mason couldn't help but nod his head in agreement. On more than a few occasions, ever since they had all four met, David had made it a point to use his impressive sneaking skills to catch his friends completely off guard, not making so much as a sound. At times it would get very irritating. However, out here, that would definitely prove useful out there.

Deciding to pack his knife away until later in the afternoon, David and Mason decided to head back, turning on their heels, suddenly surprised to find Mufasa standing tall upon the rolling hill in front of them, his son, the young cub Simba, and surprisingly, Michael, standing alongside the both of them. All three watching the two intently. "Uh, g-good morning, your Majesty." David greeted, bowing slightly.

The three visitors began to approach them, the great king actually nodding his head in return. "Good morning to you as well, David and Mason. However, I said to not bother with formalities." The king responded warmly as he turned his gaze first to his son, then to the plains ahead. "Hey, guys, what are you doing with that spear?" Michael suddenly spoke, glaring them both down accusingly. David and Mason both thought intently for a second before grinning widely, as if in anticipation. "Well, we decided to try and make some use of ourselves while we're here, so we thought we'd accompany the lionesses for the afternoon hunt." David spoke clearly to their bearded companion.

"Guys, you don't know how fast the average lioness is able to run. I don't think you guys will be able to really get a lot accomplished with one spear." Michael responded with his arms crossed. "Besides, don't feel that you must prove anything to any of the pride. You do not have to tire yourselves hunting if you do not truly wish to." Mufasa added, looking at the two humans with a bit of concern if they would end up hurting themselves if they went.

"No, we really want to. We appreciate your concern for us your Ma…er, I mean, Mufasa, but we really do want to. We want to be able to aid your pride in any way we can, just as your pride did for us." Mason suddenly interjected, an air of nobility and honesty pretty much bursting from him like a sun god. The king looked at the human boy for a minute, clearly thinking over Masons' statement. Almost instantly, his expression softened and he firmly nodded his head. "If that is what you truly wish to do, than I will not try to stop you. You are members of our Pridelands, and as such, you are free to do whatever it is you wish to pursue, so long as it doesn't disturb the balance of the kingdom." He spoke firmly, clearly meaning every word he said.

David couldn't help but momentarily think about all the other kings in human history. He couldn't help but wish they had all been like Mufasa, a firm ruler, strong but fair, and kind. If all kings had been like that, there would have been a lot less violence in their world. Finally coming back to his senses, he turned his attention back to Michael. "Hey Michael, do you want to come with us? Who knows, it might e kinda fun." He invited the bowl haired boy.

Without even a seconds thought, Michael firmly shook his head 'no'. "Thanks, but no thanks. Personally, I don't really find what could be fun in taking a living creatures life, whether or not if it's for survival. You go on ahead. I've actually decided to stay with King Mufasa while he takes Simba to see the Pridelands. It'll serve as a useful way for me to get familiar with the terrain anyway." He responded, speaking firm and true, just like he always did. David could do nothing more than give an exasperated sigh. He really wished sometimes that Michael would just lighten up and be fun to be around for once, instead of all business, all the time.

David turned to find Mason trying to keep Simba from grabbing at the spear he had in his hand. "Whoa, easy there, little guy. This is dangerous." Mason said in protest, trying to hold his spear high, to keep it out of Simba's reach.

"Well, if you wish to accompany the lionesses for the hunt, I suggest you hurry back home. The afternoon sun is almost upon us, and they will soon start splitting into groups." Mufasa advised them as he motioned for Simba to come back to him and Michael so they could continue whatever previous business they had. David and Mason nodded their heads in agreement as they began to go their separate ways from the others, making their way back to Pride Rock.

Within a few minutes, the two had made their way back to the lion's home. Just like Mufasa had said, the lionesses were already gathering at the foot of the slope of Pride Rock. Sarabi, as she was the queen of the Pridelands, obviously stood before the other lionesses, as it was the queens job to assign who is in what hunting party, and who leads which party.

"The afternoon sun is upon us my friends and sisters. Now it is time to begin the hunt. Today, I will take lead of one party. Ndala, you shall be in charge of the second, and Ysinda shall be in charge of the third. As for who shall be in which party, Ndala, Ysinda, you may choose your party. Sarafina, Mbinwe and Nizende, you shall come with me today." Sarabi announced to the other lionesses as the three chosen lionesses approached and stood side by side before the queen. Within a minute, the other two party leaders had chosen three lionesses of their own, and the three groups got settled into their respective positions, depending on what part of the Pridelands they should search today.

"Wait. Don't leave yet! We want to help you." David and Mason suddenly shouted out from the grasslands as all the lionesses turned their attention to the two humans rushing toward them. Luckily, if the pride hadn't recognized them, the two humans would have probably been running for their lives at this point. Almost as instantly as they had arrived, the two human boys came to a stop before the pride, standing tall, even determined.

"We want to help you with the afternoon hunt today." David announced to the pride, hoping that his request would at least be considered. He couldn't help but notice a few of them looked rather amused at this request of his. "It's true. King Mufasa said we didn't have to, but you all have already done so much for us. We want to help you as best we can in return." Mason added in, hoping they would be accepted. They had already set their sights on repaying them for their kindness.

After several anxious moments of silence, all the other lionesses had all seemed to agree that the two humans should be brought with them, and finally, sealing the deal, Sarabi nodded her own head in agreement. "If you wish to accompany us, you may. However, you won't be able to catch up with us on your own." She told the two eager boys as she and the lioness called Sarafina came forward, bowing their heads low. David and Mason quickly took this as a sign to probably get on their backs. Albeit, they were rather hesitant to be using them for this kind of purpose, but when they had gotten promises that it was perfectly alright from the two of them, they were all soon off.

Drifting through the brilliant green rolling plains of the Savannah, the sky above was a brilliant cloudless blue, the sun shining brightly above them. Looking all around them intently for some kind of animal to attack, David couldn't help but smile proudly to himself. He probably looked like some kind of wild man, riding a wild lions back without a problem, while his companion rides alongside brandishing a spear like some kind of Tarzan clone.

Looking at the other lionesses traveling alongside them, Mason recognized the lioness who was letting him ride on her back was the same lioness who that cub Nala had gone to yesterday back at Pride Rock. Turning his attention back to the queen of the Pridelands, whom David had decided to graze upon, Mason calmly cleared his throat in an attempt to get her attention.

"Uh, we never really got the chance yesterday, your Majesty, but um…we want to say, thank you. Thank you and your pride for helping us when you found us." Mason calmly and politely stated, bowing his head slightly in recognition of her position as royalty.

"Yeah." Chimed in David in hopes of getting their point across. "We'd probably be dead right now if it wasn't for all of you." He finished, clearly meaning every word.

All the lionesses among them all slightly nodded their heads in appreciation of the two human boys' words. "Well, we never got the chance to say so ourselves, but we're just glad you all weren't hurt." The lioness named Sarafina responded not too long afterwards. "Yes. Mufasa has most likely already told you, but we weren't trying to frighten any of you. We had never seen humans in the Pridelands before, and seeing you all was a bit surprising. We were only trying to get a closer look, but then you all took off." Sarabi chimed in. "We had no intention of wanting to harm any of you, but apparently, we didn't get that point through in time." She finished as David and Mason could do no more than smile in amusement.

"Well, none of you have to feel bad about that. If anything else, we probably would have stayed where we were. It's just, back in our world, we had heard stories of lions attacking and killing humans on numerous occasions." Mason said politely as David had gone back to his scouting duties. "Plus, Michael's little fit of paranoia wasn't exactly helping, either." David supported as he suddenly got his sights focused on a distant object far off to the west. Apparently, the other lionesses had seen it as well. It was a lone wildebeest standing in the middle of a small clearing, obviously too busy eating the grass to notice them.

"Quick you two. You need to get off so it won't see you." Sarafina whispered as David and Mason quickly took action and got on their hands and knees beneath the grass line. "If you wish to help us in hunting, perhaps you best leave this one to us. You need to see how we manage to obtain our prey." The lioness named Mbinwe whispered to them cautiously as she and the other lionesses started sneaking on their stomachs through the grass to the lone wildebeest. _'Extraordinary. Despite their size, they move without making a single sound whatsoever.' _Mason thought amazedly to himself, watching the four hunters slink through the grass, soon getting positioned on all the wildebeest's sides so it wouldn't have a chance of running.

After a few moments silence, the silence quickly broke as two of the lionesses quickly leaped from the grass and latched onto the startled wildebeest, clawing and biting at its hide and its neck. As the struggling east tried to shake them off and flee, the other two lionesses leaped from their spots, pinning the wildebeest down. David and Mason watched in a mix of fascination and horror as one of the lionesses (they couldn't tell who) quickly bit down on the wildebeest's neck, and jerked forcefully. They could hear its neck snap all the way from where they were hiding.

Once they were sure it was dead, David and Mason came out from their hiding spots and approached the four hunters, looking at the bite marks and claw scars they had left on the dead creature. "In order to successfully obtain prey, the trick is to catch them by surprise, make sure they do not know you're there." The lioness named Nizende told them as she and Mbinwe bowed their heads low, trying to lift the dead animals body onto their backs so they could carry it back home.

This strategy definitely made a lot of sense to the two humans as they thought over how they could use that plan to their advantage. Mason had an expertise in throwing long distances, and David could definitely pull off the sneaking bit. "Well, we'll have to try that if we find anything else out here." Mason retorted as he tried to look around for anything that would be worth hunting.

As they and the hunting party began to roam the plains for anything else to hunt, David quickly stopped in his tracks, pointing down to a small herd of zebra down in a large clearing to the southeast. "We'll take this one." Mason informed their hunting mentors as he and David quickly got down on their hands and knees, Mason literally clutching his makeshift spear in his teeth, and they began to drift through the grass, not making a single sound as the lionesses all stood watching intently.

"How do they plan to take down a zebra if it is with an entire herd?" Sarafina asked Sarabi, clearly not knowing how this would end. None of her companions could give an answer. This was going to be interesting.

After a few minutes of careful crawling underneath the grass, David and Mason had reached the edge of the clearing, the zebra herd right in front of them. "Hey, uh, Mason? I didn't have a chance to ask. How exactly do we plan on taking down a zebra if it's with its herd?" David asked, clearly wanting a plan to go by. Clutching his spear firmly in his hands, Mason began to search the entire area for something they could use to their advantage.

Soon, he looked like he had a good plan in mind. "We're going to work as a team. David, do you see that tree on that small rise over there?" he asked the black haired boy intently. David followed his gaze and noticed a small rise outside the clearing with a large tree on its edge. "Yeah, what about it?" he asked, not getting where Mason was going with this. "Ok. You stay in the grass, and head for that rise. Then, I want you to climb into the leaves of that tree, and wait for me to give the signal." He whispered intently, much to his friend's confusion.

"Well, what's the signal?" he asked, still not understanding. "I'm going to try and snap a twig to get their attention. If they decide to flee, then I want you to jump from the tree and take one down." He finally finished. David only looked at his friend like he was crazy.

"How do you expect me to take down a zebra if it's already running for its life?" he asked incredulously, only to have Mason slap a palm over his mouth. "Don't worry. I've got this all planned through. Just trust me on this and get over there." He whispered, clearly trying to avoid being heard by anything else. David finally nodded his head in agreement and began to silently crawl through the grass along the edge of this clearing, trying not to make a sound.

After a few minutes, David had finally reached his hiding spot. Luckily, this tree was on the very edge of the rise, and was overlooking the herd. Quickly latching his arms around the bulk of the tree, David started to inch his way up into the leaves, soon situating himself so that he was in the perfect spot for pouncing. Silently pulling out the combat knife in his back pocket, he watched for any sign of Mason, to see what he was going to do.

Soon, the blonde boy came crawling silently from the grass, and steadily approaching the zebra herd, which still had not noticed him. True to his word, Mason soon came to a stop and raised his left foot high, and sent it hard on top of a stick underneath him, snapping it loudly. Just like he had planned, every single zebra right there turned their heads to see the blonde human boy standing before them with a large sharpened stick in his hand. Almost instantly, the herd registered the stranger as a threat, and they instantly took off in a run to David's left.

"This is it!" David shouted to himself as he instantly leaped out of the tree in the direction of the herd beneath him, which had already escaped his landing spot. Everything that David saw at that moment was almost playing in slow motion. As he was gliding through the air to solid earth, he saw Mason's makeshift spear come ripping through the air, landing right in the ground at David's feet.

What happened next was David's feet landing roughly on the protruding end of the spear, ending it back, but then it slung back, propelling David through the air even farther than the initial leap. Before David even knew it, he was gliding through the air like a bird, gaining on the herd, fast. Instantly, David found his mark and landed roughly on a zebra that was beginning to fall behind, tackling it to the ground as the rest of its herd made a quick escape.

David knew he had to make this quick. Trying his best to get above the struggling beast, David fiercely lifted up his knife, and brought it down hard on the zebra's neck, jerking it around to make the wound bigger, so it would at least bleed faster and not suffer as long. Yanking his bloodied knife from the dying animals throat, he made a quick decision to end it already. Quickly bringing his knife back down, he stuck the blade into the bloodied animals chest, piercing its heart, stopping the zebra's movements instantly.

Ripping his knife from the hide of the animal, David looked carefully at what he had just accomplished. A bloodied zebra was lying before his feet, slain. He had just become an official hunter. He turned to look back to find Mason approaching him, spear in hand, soon followed by the lionesses, who, judging by the looks on their faces, had seen the whole thing.

"Mason, David, that was amazing! You took it down with your bare hands as if it was nothing!" Nizende exclaimed in amazement at the two humans first kill. David and Mason merely looked at each other with a true look of accomplishment. "I have never seen such hunting like that before. You humans really work well in groups, apparently." Sarabi stated in respect, looking over the so-called cleanliness of their kill. They took it down nice and swift, just like hunters are supposed to.

"Well, to be honest, I really didn't know what the plan was going to be. Mason got me by surprise." David stated modestly, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment. He was more used to praise for his singing, rather than his new skills at hunting.

"What are those strange things you two are holding? They seemed to really help you." Sarafina asked when she noticed the bloodied knife in David's hand, and the spear in Mason's. Mason and David looked carefully at their respective hunting tools, trying to think of how to explain human hunting methods. "Well, this thing is what we call a spear. We use it to take down prey from a distance so we don't get hurt. You see, humans get hurt pretty easily." Mason suddenly started explaining, going over every detail of his new weapon.

The lionesses all began to listen intently as they lifted Mason and David's kill onto their backs along with the wildebeest they caught earlier, slowly making their way back to Pride Rock. These two large beasts would definitely feed everyone. It hadn't taken long for Mason to explain the uses and techniques of using a spear, but David had a bit of a harder time trying to word his explanation of the knife he had in his hands, which he was currently wiping against his pant legs, to get some of the blood off of it.

Once David had slid the knife back into the sheath in his back pocket, and Mason had balanced his spear against his shoulders, resting his hands on it, the lionesses took this moment to ask their most biting question. "Well, you two have definitely shown that you have what it takes to hunt when you need to." Mbinwe stated to the two flattered humans as they finally got back to the slope of Pride Rock.

"Agreed." Sarabi announced to the hunting party as the other two hunting parties steadily made their way back, each of them carrying a single antelope. "In fact, we were interested to see if the two of you would be interested in becoming a permanent addition to the hunting party." She suddenly asked, all the lionesses that David and Mason had hunted with looking at them, almost as if they were hoping that the two would say yes.

Needless to say, the two were a bit taken aback by this unexpected invitation. They had only killed one zebra, and the pride was already asking if they would hunt with them again. Momentarily turning their backs on the pride, David and Mason started to whisper amongst themselves, and then quickly turning back to face the lionesses, even the ones from the other hunting parties. "Well, to be honest with all of you, this kind of hunting the first bit of hard work we've had in a long while, and to make a long story short, it feels exhilarating. So, in other words…" David spoke up, leaving the rest of them leaning forward to get their answer.

David and Mason momentarily nodded their heads and agreement and turned back to face them. "We'd be happy to hunt alongside you again." They both said unanimously. To their surprise, all the lionesses suddenly roared in unison, sending the two human boys onto their backs. Quickly picking themselves back up, David and Mason momentarily smiled in pride. It was a good feeling to be accepted so well among hunters like these.

"Then it is official. David and Mason, you are now the newest hunters of our pride." Sarabi announced in conclusion as all the lionesses nodded in agreement and congratulations as they all began to walk back up the slope to Pride Rock. For a moment, David and Mason were silent. The only thing they knew for certain right now, was that this situation of theirs, probably wasn't as bad as they had begun to think it was.

**Well, there's chapter 4 for you guys. I was working really hard to try and see how the hunt should go, and apparently, finding a way to make it work was so hard, it took me the whole night. Anyway, it's done, and chapter 5 will be up soon. Chapter 5 is going to take place at the same time as Chapter 4, only this time it focuses on Michael during his time with Mufasa and Simba during the cubs training to be king. Read and review please.**


	5. A Connection Reached

**Hey everyone. Busy day for me; so now I've finally found some time to get to work on chapter 5. I can't thank you all enough for sticking through with me thus far. I promise you all, you will not regret having done so. That means you hikari123 and prince-of-pride. Anyway, here's chapter 5. I hope you all enjoy it.**

_'I can't believe those two. They act as if it's some kind of a game, hunting with wild animals, especially lions. Am I the only sane one amongst the lot of them now?' _Michael bitterly thought as he was watching David and Mason depart from Pride Rock to the oceans of grass. He couldn't help but sigh at everything that was going on, rubbing a hand to his forehead in anxiety.

_'I mean, I'm no less grateful to these lions than the others, but honestly. Looking at those three, you'd think they wanted to stay here. Who in their right mind would want to do that?' _he mentally shouted, trying desperately to try and keep a cool head. There were times, ever since he and his new friends had met, where he thought they were too childish at times. That was usually why they didn't really like to talk to him. Although, he himself wasn't any less aware of the fact that he himself had a habit of being a negative thinker.

Keeping a watchful eye on the shrinking images of Mason and David until they disappeared behind one of the rolling banks, Michael took this time to just bury his face in his hands, letting out a frustrated and irritated sigh. Sometimes, he just didn't understand his friends at all.

"What am I going to do with them?" he finally whispered to himself in a tired groan. Everything that had happened to him recently had just happened to fast for him personally. If there had been more time to just process everything, fact from fiction, he would have been able to cope with his new temporary environment a lot easier. He didn't ever show it to anyone, but there sometimes moments where he wished he could e like James, or David, or Mason. In their own way, they were more easygoing than he was. They wouldn't try to make logical sense of everything, just cope with it. Right now, he really wished he were capable of doing that.

Right now, because the morning stress he was a regular victim of was pounding down on him harder than usual, and his current period of frustration, Michael finally got down on his hands and knees, and started to pound his fist against the stone until there were bruises. Right now, Michael felt like the usual protagonist of H.P. Lovecraft after seeing that which they were never meant to see. He felt like he had completely lost his mind.

Finally, deciding that this episode of his was never needed, Michael got back onto his feet and steadily wiped the dirt from his hands onto his jeans, looking out at the vast expanse of green, taking some deep breaths to relieve his anxiety. Now that he had finally calmed himself down, Michael was finally able to observe his surroundings, with a bit of admiration. He had always been one to appreciate the finer side of nature, and this was definitely one of the tops. It was a true example of God's green earth. Something untouched by the spoils of man. If he weren't always so stressed out by everything, he silently admitted he wouldn't actually have minded being here for a while.

Finally having seen enough for the moment, Michael decided to head back to the cave, slightly surprised to see the king Mufasa and his son, the cub Simba and Mufasa's mate Sarabi silently stepping out from the cave, actually having not noticed him. Michael decided to just momentarily watch as the king and his son started to ascend a small stone path he had not noticed before. It looked like it could scale up he the entire vertical rock, even reach the top. Once the two of them had disappeared from view, and the queen had returned back into the darkness of the cave opening, Michael stood silent momentarily.

If David and Mason were really going to go through with their vow to go hunting with the pride, maybe he could do something himself to make himself useful somehow. _'Maybe I could use this opportunity to just see how monarchy works out here. Besides, there's not much else I could be able to do here, since those two insist on taking care of hunting.' _He thought proudly to himself as he decided to follow after Mufasa and Simba, carefully making his way along the path. He always had a bit of a problem with heights, although he was really trying to put that behind him right now.

Once Michael had finally reached the top, he found the two lions watching the Pridelands intently as the sun had broken over the horizon, turning all waters in view into shimmering golden lights, and casting an enchanting light across the land. It was by far, one of the most beautiful sights Michael had seen in a very long time. Hoping not to get himself noticed, in case this wasn't a good time to be here, he quickly crouched down so he could at least hear what could be going on.

"Look, Simba. Everything the light touches, is our kingdom." Mufasa spoke wisely to his son. "A king's time as ruler, rises and falls like the sun. One day, Simba, the sun will set on my time here, and will rise with you, as the new king." He finished, clearly wanting his son to take those words into serious consideration. Michael couldn't believe it. That explanation of a kings rule was one of the most down-to-earth and wisest things he had ever heard. It was simplistic, yet so full of meaning. It was really something every leader and parent should explain to themselves, and to their young, if they are to take their place one day. That they will not be around forever. Michael really wished his parents had told him that back then.

"And this will all be mine?" he could hear Simba ask excitedly, hearing the small cubs paws padding against the stone as he was looking over all the land. "Everything." The king reassured, nodding his head to his son. Michael took this moment to briefly peek over the edge of stone he had been hiding behind to see what was going on. He noticed a dark shadow-filled spot in the Pridelands that Simba was looking closely at. "But what about that shadowy place?" the small cub asked his father curiously, turning to face him, thankfully having not noticed Michaels partially exposed head.

Mufasa's expression quickly changed from fatherly to dead serious in a heartbeat. "That's beyond our borders. You must never go there, Simba." He spoke firmly, definitely meaning it. This word was law. "But I thought a king can go wherever he wants." Simba responded, looking up to his father for any sign of his statement being true. To his disappointment, there was none, however, one wouldn't have known, judging by the amused look on his fathers face as he began to approach the stone path once more. "Well, there's more to being king than simply getting your way all the time." He spoke so matter-of-factly as Simba excitedly turned to follow his father again. "There's more?" he asked excitedly.

Michael didn't have chance to make his exit as he looked up to find a mildly surprised Mufasa staring right down back at him, clearly not expecting the human to be there. "Oh…uh, g-good morning." The bearded boy quietly muttered, at a loss for words. For a minute, he was afraid he was in very serious trouble for having intruded on such a private moment. However, to his relief, the king didn't look angry at all. In fact, the amused look on his face moments before had returned. "Good morning to you, Michael. Is there something on your mind?" Mufasa asked the boy kindly as he and Simba soon began to go down the stone path, Michael quickly following after so he wouldn't have to face any more major heights today.

"Oh, well, uh…no, not really, but thanks for asking anyway." He weakly responded, scratching the back of his head nervously. _'You liar.' _His conscience shouted in his head as he finally got his feet back on the flat ground of the stone arch of Pride Rock. "To be honest with you, actually, I was thinking earlier today. This morning, Mason and David had been talking about doing something for your pride, in a kind of repayment. For your, uh, generosity, I mean. I don't know what, though." He nervously said as he followed Mufasa and Simba down the stone slope to the grasslands. _'Quit lying, Michael. You know perfectly well what they meant.' _His pesky conscience shouted once more.

"Did you hear anything?" Mufasa suddenly asked, coming to a stop, catching Michael by surprise. _'Oh no. I was right! He took me out here to kill me! I must have broken some old law or something!' _he thought in a severe panic as he started looking in all his available directions for somewhere to run. Although, deep down, he knew it was pointless to run from a lion when it's in its natural habitat, namely this kind. Shrugging his shoulders and bowing his head, he decided he might as well come clean. "Yeah, I heard both of you. I had come up to see what you two were doing. I'm sorry if I shouldn't have, but I couldn't help it. So if you're going to kill me, your Majesty, please make it quick." He muttered, his voice starting to break up.

A sudden release of amused laughter caught Michael completely by surprise as he lifted his head to find Mufasa laughing mostly to himself, and then turning to face Michael eye-to-eye. "I never said you were in trouble, or that you were going to be punished. It's merely a curious question." He responded in that matter-of-factly tone once again. Cracking the slightest sideways grin, Michael couldn't help but mentally slap himself for being so paranoid.

"Alright. Thank you for clearing that up, your Majesty." He spoke solemnly, bowing his head in respect. "Please, I told you all before, don't bother with the formalities." Mufasa responded, the most unnoticeable bit irritated. "Oh, um, right. Sorry. I can't really help it." Michael responded, clearly embarrassed with himself as he continued to follow the king and the small cub.

Suddenly remembering where he had been going with his previous statement minutes ago, Michael cleared his throat to catch the king's attention. "Anyway, what I had been saying earlier. I had been thinking, since Mason and David were clearly so committed to carrying out their word with helping your pride in some way, shape or form, I had thought of something. Perhaps, there could be something I myself could do, so I'm at least not such a burden to you and your subjects?" he asked the king nervously, not really wanting to be kept in silence for long.

"Michael, don't trouble yourself with it so much. Neither you, nor any of your friends NEED to do anything for us. We're happy to give you somewhere to stay. We always aid those who are in need. It's how we keep peace with all of those in the Pridelands." Mufasa spoke in retort, clearly trying to make it clear that the human didn't HAVE to do anything for them he didn't really want to.

Michael sighed, almost in defeat. "Well, I know that I don't HAVE to do anything, but it's more that, I want to do something for any of you. You've already done so much for us. In our world, we have a saying for something like this. It's been a while since I've heard it, but it was something about giving equally to your ally what they give to you. You gave us shelter and saved our lives, and it's only right that I do my part and make it up to you in any way." He spoke, almost pleading. He always did have a nagging sense of honor.

As Mufasa stood silently, Michael began to fall into a slight loss of hope. While Mufasa was a kind and understanding king, apparently, it was hard to get him to change his mind on anything he had already decreed. Suddenly, the king spoke up again, sounding a little more welcoming than recently. "Michael, if you truly wish to do whatever you think will aid our pride, then you are free to do so. Although, I cannot see anything you could be able to help with, that the pride can already take care of themselves. However, if you would simply like to accompany Simba and I for the day, you may." The king announced, that infamous warm expression on his face again.

Although it wasn't really what Michael would have called 'helping', he didn't really have a place to complain. Besides, this meant he would at least be doing something. "I'd be happy to." He said politely. The king nodded his head in gratitude to the humans polite acceptance as he turned and continued to graze the Pridelands, Simba following intently after him, Michael staying close. "Um, if I may ask, Mufasa, why exactly are we out here?" he asked the king curiously, looking at the endless oceans of green on all his sides, the brilliant blue skies giving an extra shine from the sun overhead. "Well, Michael, today, I'm teaching Simba the ways of being king, as he is to be future king when my time has ended." Mufasa responded as Simba began to show a stronger sense of pride with the title of 'future king'.

The three of them began to continue their little journey through the Pridelands as they came over the top of a hill. Michael then instantly noticed none other than Mason and David, sitting among the grass, Mason holding what looked like a makeshift spear in his hand. The three of them went down to the two human boys as they began to explain their interest to help the lionesses hunt. To Michael's astonishment, Mufasa allowed them to, so long as they don't do anything to disturb the balance of their kingdom. Once Michael's two friends had agreed and took off for Pride Rock, the three of them took back to grazing the beautiful ocean of the Savannah. Though the whole thing, Michael couldn't stop thinking of this concept of Mufasa teaching his son what it takes to be a good king.

Michael couldn't help but take a bit of interest in something like that. He always had a bit of a fascination with the ways of monarchy and kingship, and the whole heir system, especially since mankind had its share of good kings, and bad kings. "Well, if that is what the two of you were discussing earlier this morning, please, do continue. You could just pretend I'm not even here." He responded, holding his hands up politely.

Mufasa and Simba couldn't help but quietly laugh amongst themselves at Michael's insistence. "You don't need to think so lowly of yourself here. You're welcome to take part at any point if you feel you should." The king told him reassuringly as he and Simba began to walk to the top of a rolling hill. Michael decided to follow suit, noticing a small pack of antelope leaping through the grass in the distance.

"Simba, everything you see, exists in a delicate balance. As king, you must understand that balance, and respect all the creatures. From the crawling ant, to the leaping antelope." Mufasa spoke knowingly to Simba, who was clearly confused by his father's statement. "But, Dad, don't we eat the antelope?" he asked curiously, wanting to know what the great king meant. Michael couldn't help but feel a bit confused by that statement. He always thought lions and antelope would be the worst of enemies, due to the ways of the natural food chain. However, Mufasa didn't look deterred in the slightest, and continued.

"Yes, Simba, but let me explain. When we die, our bodies become the grass, and the antelope eat the grass. And so, we are all connected, in the great Circle Of Life." The king finished as he turned to look at a spectacular view of the Pridelands.

Once again, the extent of the lion king's wisdom was enough to make a spark in Michael's mind. That explanation of the never-ending cycle of life and death made so much sense, in a prophetical kind of way. Before Michael was able to admire the new knowledge he was finding, he was suddenly thrown off guard, jumping in shock as an elegant British voice broke out from behind him.

"Good morning, sire." Was what came from a blue-feathered orange-billed bird as he swooped low to the ground, landing elegantly on a large rock before Mufasa and Simba. "Good morning, Zazu." Mufasa responded politely to the strange bird. Suddenly looking like he just remembered something, Mufasa turned his gaze to Michael and motioned his head for the human to approach him. "Michael, this is Zazu. You could say he's the king's advisor." The king introduced as Michael warily approached the bird, who was looking at him with what looked like resentment. "Zazu, this is one of the humans I had told you about. This is Michael." The king continued. Nevertheless, Zazu didn't look all that impressed.

"Yes, well, charmed to see a human in the Pridelands, I can honestly say." Zazu responded, though he was actually flicking his feathers in Michael's direction, as if he was shooing him away. _'Oh yeah, we're definitely gonna get along.' _Michael thought sarcastically as he decided to back away a few steps, clearly knowing introductions were over.

"Sire, simply checking in for the morning report." The bird suddenly proclaimed, turning his direction back to the king. "Fire away." Mufasa responded, clearly willing to hear what the stuck up bird had to say. Zazu started to rant about something or other, Michael wasn't really all that interested, cause it was clearly between him and Mufasa. Briefly sitting himself down in the grass, Michael noticed a small grasshopper leap from the grass in front of him. Instantly after it landed, Simba suddenly leaped after it, then he tried again. _'The curiosity of children at its best.' _He thought amusedly to himself.

Soon after, Mufasa had noticed too and turned his attention away from Zazu, who was still talking, clearly not noticing a thing. "What are you doing son?" he whispered to the young cub as Simba landed for the grasshopper again, once again having not caught it. "Pouncing." He responded, slightly disappointed. Michael started to grin in anticipation when he heard Mufasa whisper into his son's ear, turning his gaze to the blue bird, a look of scheming growing on his face. The big-beaked bird was still yapping away, as if the whole world was listening to his endless jumble of words.

"Let an old pro show you how it's done." Mufasa whispered, making sure Zazu didn't hear anything. Michael could feel a grin of anticipation growing on his own face. This would be interesting to see. Mufasa quickly turned his gaze to Michael. "Michael, get down so he won't see you." He whispered to the human. Not wanting to wreck what was going to happen soon, Michael quickly got onto his stomach. The king turned his attention back to Zazu. "Zazu, would you turn around please?" he asked the hornbill politely. Completely not paying attention to what was going on, the bird quickly turned his back on the king and his son, still talking on and on.

Because the great king was much larger than him, Zazu was still able to see him, but not Michael, which meant it was working. "Stay low to the ground." Mufasa whispered to an eager Simba as he slowly pressed his son low into the grass. Simba quickly nodded his head as Zazu finally noticed the king and cub, a look of concern on his face.

"What's going on?" he asked his king nervously. His expression completely unchanged, Mufasa turned to the blue-feathered bird. "A pouncing lesson." Michael had been half expecting the bird to make a break for it at those words, but surprisingly, he didn't look distressed in the least. "Ah, yes, very good. Pouncing." Suddenly, the bird came to attention, jumping in shock. _'There it is.' _Michael amusedly thought to himself.

"Pouncing? Oh, no sire, you CAN'T be serious!" Zazu pathetically pleaded to Mufasa, whose only reaction was to patiently twirl one of the claws on his front paw in a 'turn around' motion. Zazu miserably turned around again, even raising his tail feathers, as if this had been done to him before. "Oh, this is SO humiliating." The bird muttered, closing his eyes so he could get it over with.

Michael just couldn't help but snigger slightly to himself. "Try not to make a sound." Mufasa nearly mouthed to his son, who was already springing back, ready to leap. Zazu suddenly turned his head back in protest. "What are you telling him, Mufasa!?" he asked in fear. To his and Michael's surprise, the king had disappeared. Michael hadn't even seen him move. _'Man, that was fast!' _Michael silently thought in amazement. He turned his attention back to see a frightened Zazu standing all on his own on a single rock, with nobody around. "Mufasa? Simba?" the hornbill asked in silent fear.

Then, as quick as a shot, the small cub flew from out of the grass and perfectly nailed the bird off his perch, pinning him to the ground. Michael actually laughed in a fit out loud as he climbed out of the grass, to see Mufasa was doing the same, clearly amused and proud of his son's accomplishment.

Simba himself was even prancing to his father in pride as Mufasa was finally able to stop laughing enough to congratulate his son. Already, the two were slinking into the grass, getting ready for another round. Suddenly, Zazu rose from behind the rock, a look of sheer panic written on his face. "Sire! HYENAS! In the Pridelands!" he shouted in urgency.

As soon as the bird had muttered the word of hyenas, the king instantly became stone cold serious and leaped over the rock, momentarily turning back to them. "Zazu, take Simba and Michael back home." He ordered strongly. As he began to move again, Simba started to go after him. "Aw, Dad, can't I come along?" the young cub asked desperately. His determined expresion unchanged, Mufasa quickly shook his head in refusal. "No, son." With that, the king took off, soon disappearing behind the rise of the hill they stood upon.

Zazu lifted himself into the air, flying at a pretty slow pace, as Simba turned back, clearly disappointed, even with his ears down. "I never get to go anywhere." He muttered as Michael began to follow after the hornbill and lion cub. "Oh, young Simba, one day YOU will be king. Then you can chase those slobbering, mangy stupid poachers from dawn until dusk." The hornbill reassured the cub, almost with an air of pride of his own, although Michael couldn't guess what for.

After a few minutes of what was probably uncomfortable silence, Michael stopped in his tracks, Zazu and Simba having not noticed. "You two go on ahead." He suddenly said, slightly turning back to where they had just left. Hearing what he had just said, Simba and Zazu quickly turned back to face the human with confusion on Simba's part, and fear in Zazu's.

"King Mufasa instructed me to take the both of you back to Pride Rock, and I assure you, that is exactly what I am going to do." The bird protested, flying towards Michael, clearly wanting him to turn back. However, Michael quickly ducked out of the hornbill's flight path and grabbed a rather large rock from the soil at his feet, clutching it tightly in his hand.

"Look, I may not have had a lot to do up to this point with interacting with anyone since me and my friends came here, but I'm not going to just run away while your king might be in danger. Don't you know hyenas always come in groups?" Michael retorted, slowly turning his calm speech into an all out call for action.

"Oh, but King Mufasa has dealt with those many hyenas on more than a few occasions, and has always come back in better condition than ever." Zazu weakly shot back, clearly trying, and failing, at making the human reconsider.

"Well, you never know." Michael nearly mouthed as he slowly got down onto one hand, and one knee, almost getting into a track position. Back when he had been in school back home in Oslo, he did hold a record for track. It was time for him to put those old skills back to use. Without so much as a sound, he quickly shot off onto his feet in a leap and was racing through the grass, his crude, but hopefully effective weapon, clutched in hand.

He had already left the hornbill and cub behind as he took off in the direction he had seen the king go in. He had not mentioned it to either Zazu or Simba, but what Michael's unexpected act of valor was for, was out of sympathy. _'My parents may have died on me when I wasn't expecting it. Nobody deserves pain like that. Especially a kid like Simba.' _He thought fiercely to himself as he suddenly took a huge leap off the top of a protruding rock, nearly gliding through the air, landing roughly on his feet.

It hadn't taken long after that for Michael's acute hearing to catch the sound of a fight. Quickly gliding on the grass on the edges of his boots, Michael quickly found what he was looking for. There was Mufasa, standing in the middle of a clearing, surrounded by five or six slobbering, yipping hyenas. Two hyenas lay in the circle the hyenas had formed, already dead. Michael could already tell from the distance he was standing, that Mufasa was hurt. Some claw marks were evident on his sides and one of his legs.

Suddenly, all the hyenas made a mad charge towards the lion king, a mighty roar erupting from their intended victim, as he suddenly made a massive jump above the wild creatures, quickly spinning around and swiping two of them away with one hit, sending them flying and skidding across the dirt. They were dead before they had even hit the ground.

Michael was only able to watch in amazement as the hyenas kept weakly trying to cripple Mufasa as he kept dashing out of their way. Within minutes, he had already taken down another one, and sent another running for its life with a crippled leg. For a minute, Michael was sure that this fight would be over within a few seconds. That is, until one hyena had gotten a lucky shot while Mufasa swiped another. The hyena behind the king made a mad dash and successfully bit down on the kings' leg, a pained roar escaping from the great lion's maw.

That lucky strike was enough to get Mufasa down to the ground as the hyena backed away, readying itself for the final strike. The king was in too much pain to move, and his eyes widened as the hyena made an insane run to him and leaped into the air, it's hideous fangs bared.

Suddenly, at the last second, the attack never came. Mufasa opened his eyes to find Michael grabbing onto the hyena's sides, a large rock clutched in his hands as he attempted to pin the filthy creature to the dirt. Finally, the hyena stumbled over its own feet, collapsing to the ground. With ferocity matched only by an enraged lion, Michael quickly got on his knees above the pathetic creature and brought the large rock in both his hands down hard on the hyena's skull. It was still weakly twitching from the brain damage, so Michael raised the bloodied rock once more and slammed it down with a final blow, the hyena's movements stopping instantly.

Mufasa was finally able to get back on his legs and slowly approached the kneeling form of Michael, who was breathing heavily, looking down at the creature he had just killed. Slowly getting back onto his own feet, Michael turned back to look at the lion he had just saved. "You alright?" he asked straightforwardly as he dropped the rock in his hands to the ground. "Yes. This isn't anything I haven't had to endure before, but that doesn't mean it doesn't hurt." The king responded, still looking at Michael with a bit of surprise.

"Why do you look so surprised?" Michael soon asked as he and Mufasa began to go back to Pride Rock. The great king remained silent for a few moments before turning to look at him. "When I had first introduced you and the others to the pride, I couldn't help but notice that you looked rather frightened. As such, I was thinking you didn't want anything to do with us, that you were more comfortable among your fellow humans." Mufasa replied, bringing about a small swell of guilt in Michael's stomach for the unnecessary show of fear he had made yesterday.

"With all the things you have done today, volunteering to stay with Simba and I, and what you did just now, even when I had told you and Simba to head home, has apparently proved my feelings false." He finished, with a glow of gratitude in his voice, and not just gratitude for saving his life.

Michael momentarily stopped and raised his head, the light from the sun bringing out a certain new light in his eyes. The lights of realizing you've just done something great. "I was a little concerned, especially since hyenas are pack hunters. Zazu said you'd fought them on several occasions, but I just wanted to be sure." He solemnly replied, continuing to pace alongside the king.

"My own parents had died when I was younger. For a time, I'd felt completely lost. I didn't want Simba to experience the same thing." He finally finished, a small biting tear escaping from his eye thinking about his family. An awkward silence began to hang in the air, until the king had once again broken the silence. "I am very grateful for what you have done. Not on my behalf, but for Simba's. Your actions today will not go unrecognized to the pride tonight." Mufasa proclaimed, a warm air of gratitude and respect in his powerful voice.

By that moment, they had returned to Pride Rock. Michael, deep inside, couldn't help but feel like a completely new and entirely different person. He was a hero today. "Well, looks like the lionesses have brought us quite a feast tonight." Mufasa said warmly as he and Michael began to go back up the stone slope of Pride Rock.

"I'm going back to the cave to rest a bit. You're free to do whatever it is you wish for now." Mufasa told Michael warmly before he disappeared back into the darkness of Pride Rock. Michael simply remained where he stood for the next few moments, fiercely going over everything that had occurred today. Finally recognizing the fact that this was probably one of the things he had ever done, he suddenly noticed an excited Simba running down from the stone path on the face of Pride Rock.

"Hey there, little guy. Where are you off to in such a hurry?" he suddenly asked, making Simba come sliding to a stop. "Oh, hi Michael. I'm looking for Nala. Uncle Scar just told me about this great spot near here, and I wanna show her. You wanna come with?" he asked Michael excitedly, almost literally hopping on his paws in anticipation. Michael wasn't able to respond for a moment. Kneeling down, he looked at Simba intently. "Well, first I wanna know, whose Scar?" he asked curiously. He didn't remember meeting a lion named Scar yet.

"Oh, Scar's my uncle. He's really weird, but funny." Simba replied happily, still really excited. Needless to say, Michael was a bit unsure of this. However, far be it for him to spoil a young child's fun. Shrugging his shoulders and standing up straight, he looked down at the cub once more. "Sure." He quickly answered. Simba happily leaped around in a jump and started running down the slope of Pride Rock again, Michael quickly making chase to keep up. Unbeknownst to him, or anyone else, hidden up in a small alcove in the side of Pride Rock, a dark brown furred lanky looking lion with a raven black mane sat quietly, looking down on the whole scene, watching little Simba and Michael go running for the small spot for the lionesses to rest through the day. His eyes were a blazing and piercing green, but above all else, his most distinctive feature was a large scar that ran over his left eye.

An insidious smile spread across his face as he got back up and slowly began to make his way down from Pride Rock. Clearly, he had something brewing in his mind. Whatever it was, it couldn't have spelt good for anyone.

**Well, there's chapter 5 for all of you. Well, all the boys have officially made some kind of deep connection with the pride. I guess you don't need to guess what's coming up. I had so much fun writing this story so far, and it's not even halfway over. I hope you all have enjoyed it as much as I have while writing it. Read and review, and chapter 6 is only one day away.**


	6. Il cimitero dell'elefante

**Hello again, everyone. I'm so sorry for having not updated for an entire day. I was really busy yesterday, but here's the newest chapter of The Circle Of Life. We are officially coexisting in the events of the movie now, and it is time to not only see what our human friends will do during I Just Can't Wait To Be King, but also how they will try and escape the hyenas in the elephant graveyard. For those of you who are wondering, the title of this chapter is Italian for 'The Elephant Graveyard'. At numerous points throughout the story, I'm going to have at least one chapter title be in each of our human friend's native language. Anyway, I apologize for this coming in so late, so here it is. Enjoy chapter 6.**

"Hey, Simba, wait." Michael shouted out to the energetic lion cub as he continued to run excitedly down a dirt path, which led to a small patch of trees, providing quite a nice bit of shade. This spot wasn't any secret either, as all the lionesses were laying flat on the ground all over, resting and saving their reserve energy for the next hunt later tonight. "While Michael continued trying to catch up with Simba, he was surprised to see James, David and Mason all sitting at the base of a single tree, clearly in the middle of something he couldn't tell.

James was patiently strumming the acoustic guitar he had salvaged from the wreck, and he had David and Mason all participating in their own way to the little song he was playing. Mason was happily patting his palms to his knees and putting his feet to the ground as David was quietly singing small Italian phrases throughout, mostly to himself.

Michael had kept his eyes on his friends a moment too long as his foot suddenly caught on a small rock, signifying a bit of a step, and he fell face first to the dirt, clearly not hurt, but embarrassed. He raised his face to see Simba had finally stopped right at that moment. He had stopped to see the blue-eyed cub Nala, currently in the process of being "bathed" as lions did it. "Hey, Nala." "Hi Simba." The two cubs greeted as Simba leaned in to whisper in the tan cub's ear. Michael could just barely make out what he said as he got back onto his feet. "Hey, Nala, come on. I just heard about this great place." Was all Michael could hear.

Surprisingly, she looked rather mad as she spoke through clenched fangs. "Simba, I'm kind of in the middle of a bath." She muttered, clearly wanting her friend to beat it. To Michael and his watching friend's amusement, before Simba could respond, Sarabi had suddenly leaned in, grabbing the startled cub by the back of his neck, lifting and dropping him into her paws as he began to get the dreaded bath treatment himself, yelling out in protest, like a typical little human child.

"Mom! Mom, you're messing up my mane!" he yelled out in embarrassment and aggravation, only getting an amused smile from his mother as he leaped back down to the ground, roughly rubbing his paw to his head, getting back that tuft of fur to stick out again. "Ok, ok, I'm clean! Can we go now?" he hurriedly asked as he began to approach Nala once more.

"So where are we going?" the female cub asked curiously turning over to look Simba right in the eyes. "It better not be any place dumb." She finished, clearly trying to sound intimidating. It was kind of hard though, being only a child and all. Simba got that excited smile back as he whispered into her ear again, this time, enough for Michael and the others to hear him. "No. It's really cool." He said, clearly not able to contain his eagerness.

"So where is this 'really cool place'?" Sarabi suddenly asked, causing the fur on Simba's back to stand up. Even if he wasn't a human child, James, David, Mason and Michael could recognize that kind of reaction anywhere. He was hiding something that he clearly didn't want the grownups to know about. Simba casually turned to face his mother, putting on a completely fake innocent smile. "Oh…uh, around the waterhole." He casually responded, really hoping his mother would buy it.

It was sort of funny to see the misled look on Nala's face when she rolled back onto her feet, clearly mad. "The waterhole!? What's so great about the waterhole?" she snapped out, causing Simba to slink back to her, this time speaking through clenched fangs of his own, trying not to take his eyes off his mother lest he be found out. "I'll show you when we get there." Was all David could hear him say as he turned back to his mother, this time Nala climbing out of her mother Sarafina's paws, looking at her, almost in a childish pleading manner.

"Mom, can I go with Simba?" she asked Sarafina innocently as her mother looked unsurely at the queen. "What do you think, Sarabi?" she asked her friend, clearly wanting her opinion on all this. "Well…" she started, just before Simba and Nala stood side by side, presenting by far the fakest, as well as the biggest smiles they could possibly make, clearly pleading at this point. "Please?" they both asked in unison.

Normally, the boys would have thought she would make the smart decision and tell them 'no'. Clearly Simba was planning on doing something his mother or father wouldn't approve of, and his attempts at covering the truth were weak at best. However, all their thoughts of reason suddenly came crashing down when they heard the queen respond.

"It's alright with me." She answered, the two cubs leaping in excitement as they began to go on their way. Suddenly, Sarabi spoke up again, stopping the children in their tracks. "As long as Zazu goes with you."

The groans of disappointment from Simba and Nala were almost amusing to the boys, as cruel as that may have sounded. However, it was good to at least send them off with a guide of some sort. Even if the guide was a stuck up, big-billed bird who probably would have said no if the requester was anyone OTHER than royalty.

"Whose Zazu?" Mason whispered to any of his friends as James and David merely shrugged their shoulders. "He's Mufasa's royal advisor. Kinda stuck up, but I guess his heart's in the right place." Michael answered back, bringing out an understanding "ah" from all his friends.

Suddenly, Sarabi raised her head and let out a powerful roar of her own, echoing into the air. It definitely was nothing compared to Mufasa's, but it still made the boys' heads start ringing. Within seconds, the very same hornbill came flying down from the air, landing before the queen and bowing lowly to her, before fluttering back into the air, keeping himself afloat with his wings. "Yes, your Majesty. How may I be of service?" he asked attentively. _'Yeah. Definitely the kind that will suck up to anyone bigger than him.' _ The boys all thought unanimously.

"Zazu, Simba and Nala are going somewhere near the waterhole. I want you to watch after them so they won't get into any trouble." Sarabi informed the disappointed bird as he sighed, bowed again and took flight above the two cubs as they began to slowly make their way to the large waterhole in the distance.

As soon as they were sure the cubs were far enough away, the boys all turned their attention to the queen, looks of surprise etched on all their faces. "You DO know Simba was lying, right?" James suddenly spoke up. To their bigger surprise, Sarabi nodded her head knowingly. "So then why did you let him go in the first place, and bring Nala with him to top it off?" Mason asked himself, clearly not understanding her sense of logic in all this. "I know that I can count on Zazu to convince the two of them to come back if the situation will call for it. Although, I will admit I'm still a little worried." The queen replied honestly, looking out to see the three of them in the distance, continuing toward the waterhole.

A few silent moments later, David suddenly snapped his fingers, catching everyone's attention. "Well, if you're still worried, if you want, we could go after them and at least keep an eye on them, make sure nothing happens to them." He asked, a generous backdrop to his tone. Everyone who had been listening began to nod their heads in agreement with David's plan, especially some of the other lionesses, remembering back on the successful hunting skills he and Mason had displayed earlier this afternoon.

After a few moments of careful consideration evident in her eyes, Sarabi finally nodded her head in approval. "If you all really wish to look out for them, then you may. Just be careful. All of you." She spoke warmly, yet sternly as they all nodded themselves in understanding of what was being asked of them. Soon, they were off, quickly making a break to catch up with them. "Hey, if they're up to trouble like we think they are, shouldn't we have something to defend ourselves with?" James suddenly asked, not breaking their run at all. Without a word, David took out the old WWI knife he still had in his pocket. "We could find something anywhere, James. I should know, so don't worry about it." Michael responded, turning his gaze straight ahead, starting to remember back on his heroic act only several minutes ago.

Once they were sure they were within hearing distance of Zazu and the two cubs, the four of them came neatly to a quick walking pace, David quickly tucking his weapon back in his pocket. They had all silently agreed that they should stick close by pretending to play along with the act, instead of letting them think that they're spying on them. "Hey, wait up you guys. We wanna come with, too!" James suddenly shouted, fortunately catching their attention.

"Yeah, Simba. We wanna see what this place you have in mind is, too." Michael retorted, catching his breath as they came to a stop. The look on Simba's face briefly showed caution as his gold eyes slightly turned up towards Zazu. Luckily, the hornbill had already continued to fly forward, not having caught on. Once the cub had seen this, he came back to his excited and anxious self again. "Ok, you guys. Just stick with us and we'll get there." He replied, trying to sound like he had it all under control.

"Alright, all of you. This way. The sooner we get to the water hole…the sooner we can leave." The obnoxious hornbill stated to the six of them from above. Once they were sure he wasn't listening in, the four boys tuned their ears to listen to the two cubs, without giving themselves away. "so where are we really going?" Nala whispered to Simba curiously, wanting to know what was going on right now. "An elephant graveyard." He whispered back, a look of pure excitement suddenly flooding her features. "Wow!" she suddenly exclaimed, a little too loudly for comfort. "Shh. Zazu." Simba harshly whispered back, Nala luckily getting the clue.

"Oh, right. So how are we gonna ditch the dodo?" she mischievously whispered back. None of the boys could make out what Simba proceeded to say, but to their sudden shock, Zazu had noticed and had come flying low and landing before the two cubs, a look of utmost respect for the two of them, which was a pretty unusual sight. "Ah, just look at you two. Two little seeds of romance blazing in the Savannah. Your parents will be thrilled, what with you being…betrothed and all." The hornbill suddenly announced, catching all six of them by surprise.

_'Betrothed? Oh please, they're too young for that…aren't they?' _James suddenly thought confusedly as the cubs' expressions matched his and his companions perfectly. "Be-what?" Simba asked the hornbill, clearly having no clue what that meant. However, Zazu didn't look deterred in the slightest. "Betrothed. Intended. Affianced." He continued. However, the two cubs didn't look any less confused. In fact, even more. "Meaning…?" Nala began, as Zazu finally got to the point, sounding a bit too happy.

"One day you two are going to be married." He finally stated, speaking each word slowly, so as to let it sink in. The cubs reactions were instantaneous and hilarious to the four human boys, as they had acted the same way back when they were younger. "Ew! Gross! I can't marry her! She's my best friend." Simba protested, looking a bit uncomfortably and nervously at Nala as she stepped forward as well. "Yeah. It'd be too weird." She added on as Zazu chuckled amusedly as he began to walk past the two of them, his beak held up high. "Well sorry to burst your bubble, but you two don't have a choice. It's a tradition, going back generations." He exclaimed as the boys all watched, rolling their eyes at his melodramatic attitude.

Simba slightly chuckled as a mischievous smile spread across his face as he turned a sideways glance towards Nala. "Well, when I become king, that'll be the first thing to go." He muttered, despite Zazu having heard him, turning back on his feet to face the two of them. "Not so long as I'm around." He plainly shot back as Simba leaned forward to get in the hornbill's face, his prideful expression having not subsided. "Well in that case, you're fired."

That sly comeback was enough to break Mason, James and David into a fit of laughter. "Oh man, great idea, Simba." James said between laughs and gasps for breath. However, while the rest of them looked amused, Michael looked absolutely dumbstruck. Within seconds, David had noticed this, and soon so did James and Mason. "Hey Michael, what's up?" he asked his thoughtful looking friend in concern.

"Hey, guys, call me crazy, but I think this heat is playing tricks on me again." He said in a concerned manner, looking all around himself in a state of confusion. "Why's that?" Mason asked, slowly approaching the bearded boy. He suddenly turned back to his companions. "I swear I can hear music." He suddenly said, placing a flat hand behind his right ear, trying to listen.

At first, his friends looked at him like he really WAS crazy, until Mason stopped and cupped a hand behind his own ear as well. "Hey, guys, I can hear it too." He said in shock, as soon James, then finally David followed suit. There was indeed music playing somewhere, and wherever it was coming from, it was getting louder ever so slowly.

"Where the heck is that music coming from!?" David finally asked, looking all around him, but finding nothing that could lead to music coming from the sky itself. They all soon turned back to find neither Zazu, Simba or Nala had taken any notice of it at all. In fact, they were still going on where they had left off.

"Hmm, nice try, but only the king can do that." Zazu stated self-righteously as Nala quickly came to stand beside Simba. "Well, he's the future king." She calmly retorted, bringing Simba back to his high and mighty stance. "Yeah. So you have to do what I say." He sarcastically finished, officially costing Zazu his temper. "Not yet, I don't, and with an attitude like that, I'm afraid you're shaping up to be a pretty pathetic king indeed." He shot back as the two cubs frowned and began to make their way away from him.

Soon, with a scoff, Simba turned his head back to face the hornbill, a sharp gaze in his eyes. "Not the way I see it." He suddenly said as he made a sudden leap toward Zazu's feet, the very impact bringing a sudden blast of sound through the entire Pridelands, knocking the boys off their feet onto their backs. To their absolute disbelief, the music that was reverberating from the very air itself was now in full crescendo, and to even greater shock, Simba was actually, whether they could believe it or not, singing.

**(A.N. I was laughing uncontrollably while making this, and was sort of making it up as I went along, so this may not come out looking so great.)**

_"I'm gonna be a mighty king, so enemies beware" _the young cub started, already pushing Zazu backwards over a log, getting stuck in a hole in its side, struggling to get himself out.

_"Well, I've never seen a king of beasts with quite so little hair." _Zazu suddenly shot back, keeping the rhythm going as he pulled himself out and plucked a hair from the top of Simba's head. As the boys got back onto their feet, they couldn't believe what they were seeing. Everything had suddenly turned into a distorted version of itself filled with the biggest array of colors they ever thought they could see. In fact, Michael looked kind of dizzy from the sudden change in setting.

"Guys, I think I'm seeing things." He weakly muttered as his friends quickly got behind him and pushed so he wouldn't fall over. **_"Nonli lasci dalla vostra vista. Continui con loro. ORA!" _**David suddenly fiercely shouted in Italian, trying his best to sound like the military as he and Mason, James and Michael quickly noticed neither of the cubs were nowhere to be seen, quickly taking off in separate directions.

Mason quickly began to root through all the bushes standing before him, just as he passed one adorned with birds, with Simba's head bursting through it, looking like a giant mane. _"I'm gonna be the main event, that no king was before." _He continued, leaping through the bush as he quickly ran up to the topmost part of another large rock, suddenly striking a royal stance, passing off the snob look quite well.

_"I'm brushing up on looking down, I'm working on my ROAR!" _he suddenly roared with such force, it sent Zazu tumbling down into the mud as he crawled out, pulling down an unsuspecting elephant's trunk to get it off his face. _"Thus far, a rather uninspiring thing." _He muttered, just in time for said elephant to slap him away, the poor hornbill even skipping along the water past Michael, who was peeking into a cluster of nearby flamingos in search of Simba and Nala. Too bad he didn't look in time to see the two of them come leaping into the water, sliding smoothly along, sending the flamingos flying in a panic, the two sliding cubs knocking Michael off his feet, face first into the water.

_"Oh, I just can't wait to be king!" _Simba sang out as Zazu had finally come to a stop, just as the two cubs came to a stop on both sides of him, none of them noticing a grinning David rising from the reeds behind them, preparing to snatch the two cubs so they wouldn't run off again.

"Now you have a rather long way to go, young master. If you think…" Zazu started, suddenly getting cut off as Simba started singing again, Nala making mocking faces behind Zazu's back.

_"No one saying 'do this'." _He started. "Now when I said that, I…" Zazu began until Nala suddenly cut him off with singing of her own, Simba taking her previous place. _"No one saying 'be there'." _"Now what I…" the hornbill started again until Simba started again. _"No one saying 'stop that'." _ As Zazu was finally starting to lose his temper once more. "Now what I meant by that was…" he started to shout, once again getting cut off by both cubs as they quickly took off, just as David took his chance to leap from the bushes, missing them both and landing face first in the water again. _"No one saying 'see here'." _They both sang out, just as David lifted his face from the water, and noticed another flock of flamingos charging toward both him and Zazu. "NOW SEE HERE!!" the hornbill shouted, just as he and the black-haired boy got stampeded on.

In an instant, the cubs had gotten onto the backs of two ostriches, running off to the plains as Zazu quickly took flight after them, James quickly taking chase after them on his feet. _"Free to run around all day." _Simba sang excitedly as Zazu had suddenly stopped flapping his wings and yet continued to glide, looking at the sky sarcastically. "Well that's definitely out." He stated as James had finally begun to gain on the two runaway cubs, reaching out his hands to grab them both by the scruffs of their necks as Simba finally reached a little interlude-sounding bit. _"Free to do it all MY way." _He sang out, the sudden distraction making James suddenly lose the momentum and eat a face full of dirt as Zazu was now going at breakneck speed after them, finally getting side to side by them, yet taking his eyes off where he's going.

_"I think it's time that you and I arranged a heart-to-heart." _He stated strictly, just in time to suddenly crash into the back end of a black rhinoceros as Simba and Nala finally came to a stop, then got back to having their ostriches flee. _"Kings don't need advice from little hornbills for a start." _The golden cub sang back happily as Zazu pried himself from the rhinos back and landing himself on the protruding branch of a log, which he didn't realize was heading down the river to a waterfall behind him.

_"If this is where the monarchy is headed, count me out! Out of service, out of Africa, I wouldn't hang about!" _he finally shouted, at the end of his rope, just as he and the log plummeted over the water's edge. Luckily, the hornbill had taken that moment to fly and was once again giving chase. _"This child is getting wildly out of wing" _he sang out, more to himself than to anyone else as Simba and Nala had finally gotten back on foot and were proudly running through the path made by two lines of zebras, almost like human subjects would do for a human king. _"Oh I just can't wait to be king!"_

Mason and Zazu had seen this opening and started to head after them, only to suddenly have the still zebras suddenly turn around to them, tails raised, causing the both of them to suddenly reel back in fear. At this point, Simba and Nala were happily running around the massive walking feet of a herd of elephants. Michael and James had both seen this, paling in fright. "Oh man, they're gonna get squashed! Come on!" Michael screamed as he and James quickly took off after them into the path of the herd themselves.

Little did they know, Simba had raced up and gotten on top of an elephant, turning his gaze towards Zazu, which was, unfortunately, right where Michael and James both were. _"Everybody look left." _He suddenly sang out, causing a whole bunch of present animals to suddenly start charging right towards the three of them. Within an instant, the dust cleared, and they were both flat on the ground, trying to get up. _"Everybody look right." _He continued, causing the animals to instantly go in reverse and flatten the three again.

_"Everywhere you look I'm…" _the cub continued, bouncing from smallest neck to tallest neck of a line of giraffes until he had finally reached the top. Graciously sliding down to its back, Simba made a graceful little spin in the air, landing smoothly and finally reaching the crescendo of his little act. _"…standing in the spotlight!" _

Just at the point, David and Zazu had finally had enough, both of them squeezing themselves between two large animals, both of them muttering "Not yet!" only to get themselves sandwiched at the last minute between the two large creatures.

At the point, suddenly, every single creature got included and began to sing in unison as well. _"Let every creature go for broke and sing!" _they all sang out as a line of animals began to whisper something in each others ear. _"Let's hear it from the herd and on the wing!" _they all continued as Zazu and Mason had finally finished dusting themselves free of dirt, only to suddenly get abducted from the ground by a bunch of spider monkeys.

_"It's gonna be King Simba's finest fling!" _they all shouted out in song as the two cubs were lifted high into the air by a ring of giraffes as Mason and Zazu looked angrily up at them as a bunch of monkeys were plucking lice from both their heads of hair and feathers. Finally, all the creatures crowded together and began to form into the most magnificent monolithic tower of living creatures anyone could have ever imagined, joining in the chorus.

_"Oh I just can't wait to be king! Oh I just can't wait to be king!" _they all repeated as Simba and Nala naturally appeared at the very top. Mason finally got himself out of his captive tree and found Michael, James and David staring amazedly at the structure the creatures had formed, just as they all hit the final long note of the chorus.

Suddenly, the form began to wobble and then flat out fall apart as they all quickly made a note to "RUN FOR IT!!!" just as it all came crashing down and Zazu was flattened under one solitary black rhino as the other creatures fled, the setting of the Pridelands finally back to normal, and the music replaced with blissful silence.

"Good Lord, that was WAY too close!" Michael finally muttered as he was struggling to catch his breath from all the running they had to do, not only to catch the cubs, but to keep from getting squashed. They were all sitting tiredly underneath the shade of a single acacia tree, all of them tired and worn out. "I know Simba said they know what music is, but THAT! THAT, was simply too much!" James groaned exhaustedly, trying to even keep his head from hanging.

"Come on you guys, even if we DID almost get crushed on several occasions, you have to admit that was pretty fun." Mason chuckled amusedly as he looked at all his companions. Despite their groans and grimaces of aching legs and exhaustion, they all had some pretty convincing looks of amusement on their faces, even Michael.

At that moment, just as they had gotten back up to go looking for Simba and Nala again, there were the two little troublemakers, laughing amongst themselves and having just noticed the four of them. "Hey guys, you made it. Come on, without Zazu here to watch us, we can finally go." Simba exclaimed happily as he and Nala proceeded to pace past the four human boys as they quickly went after the two to keep up with them, so as not to lose them again.

"It worked. We lost him." Simba spoke proudly as Nala finally stopped laughing enough to look at her friend respectfully. "I can't believe your plan actually worked." She answered, only causing Simba to stand up proudly. "I, am a genius." He spoke flatly, not wanting any 'ifs, ands, or buts" about it.

"I have to admit, it was a clever idea." David admitted as Nala looked at both him and Simba sharply. "Hey, genius, I helped." She retorted, only causing Simba to get that 'up-to-no-good' look again. "Oh yeah?" he slyly growled as he suddenly leaped at her, the two of them scuffling like they had the very first time the four boys had seen the two of them. Within seconds, Nala had Simba pinned to the ground. "Ha. Pinned ya." She exclaimed, causing Simba to suddenly push himself from the ground, causing the two of them to suddenly go tumbling over a small edge of ground.

"In a panic, James, Mason, David and Michael quickly took off after them, sliding down the slope on the other side with the soles of their feet, finally landing on solid rock just in time to see Nala pin the gold cub once again. "Pinned ya again." She told flatly. Suddenly, the splitting sound of a steam geyser caught all six of them off guard as they turned to see just where they were. The entire landscape was filled with either fog, or steam from the geysers

The ground was devoid of life, and the air was eerily silent, as if this was the wasteland of limbo, as human religious babble had called it. "Where are we, now?" James asked uncomfortably as Simba and Nala silently began to approach another ledge in the hopes of seeing what was on the other side.

The four of them quickly made way to stick close with them as they all finally got over the edge. "Wow." Simba and Nala both exclaimed to each other as they beheld a massive expanse of smoke, fog, dark brown skies, and gigantic elephant skeletons, going as far as the eye could see. "This is it! We made it!" Simba whispered excitedly as Nala was clearly sharing his mischievous excitement. "We could get in big trouble." She warned, though clearly not taking it seriously. "I know. Let's go get a closer look." He said quietly as they all climbed over the ledge to stand before a gigantic elephant skull.

"I don't like this place, you guys. I got a bad feeling. Maybe we should go back." Michael spoke quietly, clearly losing his sense of bravery in a wasteland like this. The others all shared his sentiments, but Simba only scoffed at them. "Come on guys, what could possibly happen out here?" he asked, all too sure of himself, as he and Nala slowly approached the skull. "I wonder if its brains are still inside." Nala whispered, as Simba only got more anxious. "Come on. Let's go check it out." He whispered back as he began to approach an opening.

Suddenly, making all six of them jump in surprise and fear, Zazu had flown in like a bullet, standing before the six of them, peering around angrily and nervously as he began to push Simba and Nala back to the direction from whence they came. "The only checking out you'll be doing, is to check out of here! We're WAY beyond the boundaries of the Pridelands!" he shouted, clearly scared out of his wits as Simba got back onto his feet and laughed to himself. "Hey, look. Banana Beak is scared." He chuckled, only to have Zazu angrily press one of his feather/ fingers to the cubs snout, clearly not kidding around.

"That's 'Mr. Banana Beak' to YOU, Fuzzy, and right now, we are ALL in very REAL danger." He urgently exclaimed, only to have Simba ignore him and go back to the skull, looking the five of them, trying to pass off looking like the "cool wandering loner" look.

"'Danger'? I walk on the wild side. I laugh in the face of danger. Hahahaha!" he suddenly laughed, trying his best to sound courageous and cunning. Suddenly, echoing from the emptiness of the skull, definitely catching Simba by surprise, enough to send him running back to the five of them, was a series of insidious cackles. Michael recognized that sound from earlier. Their biggest problem out here in the Pridelands. Hyenas.

Just as he had feared, three hyenas came crawling out from the holes in the skull, slowly approaching them with nothing but bad intentions in their pale yellow eyes. The lead hyena, who had black bangs over her eyes slyly spoke back to her counterpart. "Well, well, well, Banzai. What have we here?"

The hyena behind her, Banzai, who had really bushy eyebrows and a gruff, almost Hispanic sounding voice answered back, just as sarcastically. "Hmm. I don't know, Shenzi. What do you think, Ed?" he asked to the last hyena behind him. This hyena had eyes that were cockeyed and his tongue was hanging out, almost making him look like he had brain damage, which he definitely sounded like he did, only responding with a series of chuckles and laughs.

Surprisingly, Banzai seemed to understand what Ed was "saying" as he turned back to the six of them, a threatening glare in his eyes. "Yeah, just what I was thinking. A small bunch of TRESPASSERS!" he suddenly shouted as Zazu started trying to talk them out, steadily pushing the lot of them back. "And quite by accident, let me assure you! We'll just be on our way!" he said in a terrified rush, only to have Shenzi suddenly step on his tail feathers, clearly signifying they weren't going anywhere.

"Wait, wait, wait, hold on! I know you." She spoke quietly towards Zazu, leaning in closer, grinning and baring a set of hideous yellow fangs. "You're Mufasa's little stooge." She spoke tauntingly as Zazu, clearly insulted, yanked his tail feathers back, just as the three of them started to circle around them. "I, madam, am the king's majordomo." He retorted aristocratically. That statement definitely caught the hyenas attention as they looked hungrily at the two cubs. "Then that would make you…" Banzai started, only to have Simba suddenly speak out defiantly to these dirty scavengers.

"Future king!" he shot back. Shenzi now joined in the surrounding circle, venom laced in her threatening words. "Do you know what we do to kings who step out of their kingdom?" Simba only scoffed obnoxiously, looking angrily at the hyenas, Zazu slowly backing away to his side. "You can't do anything to me." He retorted, only to have Zazu lightly nudge his side. "Well, technically they CAN. We ARE on THEIR land." He whispered, only to have the cub suddenly get that confused look on his face again. _'Oh, no. This can't be good.' _David thought nervously.

"But Zazu, I thought you said they were nothing but slobbering mangy stupid poachers." He suddenly said, definitely making the hornbill sink fast. "Ix nay on the upid-stay." He whispered warningly, only to have Banzai suddenly get in their faces again. "Who you calling 'upid-stay'?!" he asked angrily. Now the lot of them hurriedly started to go for it. "My, my, my, look at the sun! Its time to go!" Zazu said in a growing panic. Unfortunately, Shenzi had gotten in front, slowly sending them back. "What's your rush? We'd LOVE you to stick around for dinner." She spoke, definitely NOT meaning the good form of that statement.

"Yeah, we could have whatever's…LION around!" Banzai suddenly shouted out, quickly breaking into a fit of insane laughter. Shenzi was suddenly trying to interject with a crazy pun of her own. This was their shot. Without a word, but with actions to address plenty, James and Mason quickly motioned for them all to follow them, and run for it, which luckily, they did.

Suddenly, they could hear Banzai shouting "CAUSE THERE IT GOES" from behind them. Now they had to run like the devil himself was at their heels. "DON'T LOOK BACK! KEEP RUNNING GUYS!" Michael shouted as the six of them suddenly broke off into pairs of two, running through different ways through the piles of bones. However, while David hadn't been looking, one of the hyenas had gotten a hold of Zazu's tail feathers, yanking him back.

Instants later, they all got back in a small clearing, trying to catch their energy to keep moving. "Did we lose them?" Nala asked, clearly very frightened now as Simba for once, lost that air of authority and courage, and began to look around them concernedly. "I think so." Simba replied. Suddenly a moment later, James had noticed something amiss. "Hey, wait a minute…where's Zazu?" he suddenly asked, the hock instantly spreading over everyone.

"We can't just leave him here with those savages!" Mason suddenly interjected, turning on his heels and making a break, back to where they had just escaped. "He's right. We're ALL getting out of here!" Simba spoke, clearly meaning his words as he and Nala, and soon all the others began to run for wherever the hyenas could have taken him.

It wasn't long, because they had found Zazu rocketing from the ground, a trail of red smoke burning from his tail feathers, soon followed by the hyenas' insane bunch of laughter at what they had done. Suddenly, Simba had gotten that sense of courage again and stood above the hyenas on the edge of another mound of bones, a dead serious expression in his eyes, reminiscent of that of Mufasa. "Hey!" he shouted, catching all three hyenas' attention. "Why don't you pick on someone your own size!?" he spoke threateningly. However, the moment, was short lived.

"Like…you?" Shenzi snapped back, sucking out what little courage the cub had summoned up, realizing his mistake. "Oops." He said, once again frightened as the hyenas instantly leaped up with jaws bared as they all turned and quickly ran for it, only to get stopped by the same three as their heads burst from a geyser of red smoke, once again lunging for a lethal bite on any of them, however they were already gone.

"KEEP RUNNING!" David shouted in a panic as they suddenly hit a loose pile of bones and were suddenly sent sliding down a spinal cord going down the face of this huge skeletal mountain, the bumping vertebras causing the gasp of shock escaping Simba's throat to come out sounding all shaky, like a human would if he were yelling, while driving down a rocky road. It COULD have been funny, but now was no time to laugh.

Instantly afterwards, they were sent flying from the up curled end, flying through the air, landing roughly on the dirt. Almost losing no momentum, they proceeded onward, hurriedly scaling another mountain of bones, this time just to get some distance between them and the hyenas. Upon reaching the top, for a moment, they thought they were all in the clear, when suddenly…

"SIMBA!" they could hear Nala scream as they looked and saw the female cub starting to slide down the hill, towards the waiting trio of hyenas, screaming in fear. Just as the four boys had suddenly prepared to go after and save her, Simba was already bolting down like a golden blur. In a moment of bravery that took a lot of guts for a child like Simba, he actually swiped at Shenzi's face, leaving three bloody scars on her cheek, a vicious and very pissed off growl escaping from her and her allies.

After reaching down and pulling the two cubs up to the top, the six of them continued running for their lives, not noticing until too late they had hit a dead end. All that was there was a sheer flat rock wall with another elephant skeleton laying against it. "Oh no! Now where do we go!? What do we do?" Mason asked in a momentary period of absolute panic as they looked to see the three hyenas slowly approaching from the opening in the wall they had come from, slowly backing them into a corner.

"Here, kitty, kitty, kitty." Banzai viciously growled as they all three started hungrily licking their chops. It was now or never. David instantly slung the old knife from his pocket out and held t in a defensive stance. "Forget it. You're going to have to get through me before you get them." He viciously whispered, catching the hyenas off guard, by how deadly he sounded right now.

"And me." James suddenly supported, grabbing a nearby splintered elephant rib from the ground, holding it like a club, clearly ready to fight.

"And me." Mason added, simply setting himself up into a defensive stance, almost like Tae-Kwon Do.

"And me." Michael finally whispered, readying a bone club of his own. All of them were now standing in a line between the hyenas and the cubs.

However, even though at first they looked surprised, the hyenas couldn't help but laugh at this attempt at valor on the humans' part. "You really expect US to be intimidated by hairless monkeys like you?" Shenzi exclaimed in a fit of hilarious amused laughter.

"You bet we do." They all muttered back in unison, steadying themselves. In an instant, the hyenas instantly made a mad charge at the four boys. With reflexes like a cobra, David instantly lashed his knife forward, slashing Ed across his snout, sending the idiotic hyena back, whimpering, blood starting to slowly come down his snout.

With just as much ferocity, Michael swung his club upward like a madman, nailing a lucky shot right in Banzai's jaws, sending him in a back flip, down to the ground, slowly picking himself back up and spitting out several broken fangs as he leaned himself back, growling viciously.

Finally, Mason had put his self defense skills to use and had gotten a sharp jab of his elbow right in Shenzi's snout, sending the last of the three hyenas reeling back in pain and grown fury.

Right when the both of them were ready for another attack, Simba suddenly came up from between the four boys' legs and the fur on his back began to stand as he suddenly let out the fiercest and strongest roar he could. However, being only a cub, the end results were weak at best. The hyenas began to laugh again as they leaned forward, clearly taunting him.

"That was it?" Shenzi asked unbelievably as she quickly got back her composure. "Come on. Do it again. Go ahead." She offered. Simba had decided to take that offer and roared again, only this time, what came out was a roar of such power, intensity, and raw fury, that even Simba himself and David, Mason, James and Michael reeled back in surprise from it. The hyenas instantly changed their looks from amusement to shock.

Instantly, the gigantic form of Mufasa came down from above and instantly sent the three hyenas flying and scrambling as the gigantic roaring lion king swiped at the hyenas again, and again, and again, roaring viciously as Simba, Nala, and the four boys could only watch in shock and fear at the ferocity he had never shown to them before. Within seconds, Mufasa had the hyenas all in shoulder to shoulder, lying on the ground. He instantly stood above them, pinning them to the ground as Shenzi and Banzai instantly started talking through each other to keep him from killing them.

"Ah, please, have mercy! Uncle, uncle, uncle!" they both stuttered as Mufasa roared "SILENCE" in return, instantly shutting them up, yet not really. "Ok, ok, we're gonna shut up, right now!" Banzai screamed in terror as Shenzi tried to remain calm. "Listen, we're REALLY sorry." She responded weakly. Mufasa's expression did NOT soften at ALL.

"If you EVER come near my son again!" he growled viciously, the hyenas trying pathetically to act surprised. "Oh, this is YOUR son? Oh man, I didn't know that honest! Did you?" Banzai quickly asked a panicked Shenzi. "No! Of course not!" she answered back. Then, the both of them suddenly turned to the last of them. "Ed?"

In an unbelievable moment of stupidity, Ed instantly started nodding his head, producing an absolutely furious roar from Mufasa as the hyenas all quickly curled into little dark gray balls of cowardice. "Toodles!" Banzai quickly said as they all three instantly bolted off, yipping in fear with their tails between their legs.

Soon, Zazu came flying and landing beside Mufasa, nodding his head in approval. However, the look on the lion king's face, was NOT happy in the slightest bit. That anger in Mufasa's eyes struck fear in their hearts as the boys, and Simba and Nala slowly approached him, Simba, coming the closest, his head bowed in fear and shame.

"D-dad, I.." he started, until Mufasa quickly turned his head to look angrily at Simba. "You deliberately disobeyed me." He whispered coldly, causing Simba to coil back even more. "D-dad…I-I'm sorry." He said incredibly weakly, only to have Mufasa turn away and begin to walk. "Let's go home." He commanded as they all began to slowly walk in shame. Simba looked by far, the most miserable out of all of them.

"I thought you were very brave." Nala whispered into Simba's ear, in the hopes of at least cheering him up a little bit. No such luck. "Don't worry, Simba." James whispered back in hopes of helping in some way. "Even though we were all in danger, and even though we were all scared, you actually pulled through and saved Nala's life when we couldn't do anything." He continued. "Yeah. And even though they were bigger than you, you still tried to scare 'em off. That took a lot of courage to do that." Michael added, really not wanting to see Simba hurt.

Unfortunately, he didn't answer to any of them, even as they had finally escaped the Elephant Graveyard, revealing the clear skies over the Pridelands had already gone dark, signaling the approach of nighttime. After several very uncomfortable and silent minutes, Mufasa suddenly came to a stop. "Zazu." He suddenly said strongly as his majordomo came to land at his feet, looking nervously at the king. "Y-yes, sire?" he asked quietly.

"Take Nala and the others home. I have to teach my son a lesson." He spoke firmly and seriously, glancing back at Simba, who had crouched down into the grass at the mention of the word "lesson".

Without a word, Zazu went gliding over to them and landing at their feet. "Come, Nala. You too, boys. Simba…" he spoke softly, almost sympathetically as he took a deep breath and placed both his wings on the frightened cubs shoulders. "…good luck." He finally said as he leapt back into the air and began to glide towards the distant Pride Rock. James, David, Mason and Michael all knew that right now, arguing with Mufasa to stay and explain was NOT going to be heard of. Sighing in regret, they all began to follow after Nala and Zazu as the five followers all looked back, feeling very sorry for the poor little cub. "Good luck, Simba." They all whispered silently as the form of Mufasa and Simba disappeared over the rise of the hill.

**Well, there it is. Chapter 6. It took me so long to finish it, and I realize I couldn't have added it to the story yesterday no matter how hard I would've tried. Anyway, for those of you wondering, the phrase David says in Italian, is Italian for "Do not let them out of your sights. Keep up with them. NOW!" **

**And to clear something up, I keep saying all four of the boys' names in a row, because to me, simply referring to them as "the boys" or "the four humans" just seems really lazy. **

**Anyway, chapter 7 will be up soon. We'll get to have a peaceful little moment. Something that might actually change our four friends' lives forever. Anyway, read and review. Your reviews matter.**


	7. Stolthet og familie

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**Hey everybody. Sorry I was so late with getting chapter 7 up. I've been really busy lately, since I'm spending the weekend with my father, and those weekends tend to be busy, but I've found a pocket of free time to deliver unto you, my faithful readers, your reward. **

**If this chapter ends up being shorter than you wanted it to be, I sincerely apologize. I just wanted a chapter to drift away from movie events for a little bit, to take a small break from the action, and deliver a nice peaceful and heartfelt chapter for our human heroes. **

**By the way, for those of you wondering, the title of this chapter is Norwegian for "Pride And Family". I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as I did writing it. **

Complete and total night had fallen over the Pridelands as the grazing creatures of the day had taken off to find shelter in which to sleep for the night. The moon was shining bright in the night sky, oceans of glittering stars sparkling all around, spreading a magnificent lunar light over the massive plains of The Savannah.

Drifting silently across the still tall grass were six individual figures solemnly walking, not a word shared amongst them as they slowly approached the silent monolith of Pride Rock. Zazu, Nala, and David, Mason, James and Michael hadn't shared a single word amongst each other since they had left a frightened Simba with an angry Mufasa after he saved them from those wretched hyenas back at the elephant Graveyard.

The silence was very uncomfortable, yet after nearly getting themselves killed, as well as those around them, they all individually knew that talking wouldn't be that uplifting right now.

"Hey, Michael?" Mason suddenly spoke up, almost making his friends jump from the sudden break of silence. "Y-yeah?" Michael quietly whispered back, looking at his blonde friend curiously. "That was really cool what you did back there. In the graveyard, I mean." Mason whispered to the bearded boy as he kept his head bowed down.

"I agree with Mason." James spoke up as Michael turned back to his other friend intently. "To be honest with you, I was kind of expecting you to stay back in the corner while we fought." James spoke regretfully, hoping not to insult his friend. "Yeah, I had begun to think you hated everybody here because you thought this place was too much. I had started thinking different when you actually came with us to go after Nala and Simba, instead of staying behind. Yet, the way you actually fought with us, to protect them, when you knew we could have been killed. We really misjudged you, man." David whispered hoarsely, yet truthfully.

It was true. Michael had never really shown TRUE feats of courage until today. What made it an even stronger moment was that he was actually fighting to protect two cubs he didn't even know half-well. It could have been said for the rest of them, but they were always willing to fight, whereas Michael would always try to talk his way out.

Without another word, they all four decided to keep moving without a word, lest anybody else wanted to get something off their shoulders, to make themselves heard.

"Do you think Simba's going to be alright?" James soon asked to whoever was willing to listen to him after several more minutes of depressing silence. "I mean, you have to admit, Mufasa sounded really angry still. You all saw how scared the poor kid looked. I mean…you don't think he would actually…" James had started to speak, until, surprisingly, Zazu came to a landing and quickly made his way on foot to the thick-haired human boy, standing at his feet, looking at him with dead serious eyes. "You can stop right there. I can tell you all now, his Majesty would NEVER even dream of causing harm to others of his own pride, especially his own son!" the hornbill sternly and strictly addressed, definitely needing that point to get across to the lot of them.

At the sternness, yet authenticity of the small birds statement, James couldn't help but bow his head even lower. "I wasn't trying to be offensive or rude. It's just…I was speaking from experience back in our world. Human children can have good parents like Simba has Mufasa and Sarabi…and other children can have parents that are not so good. Parents that would make their children feel like they meant nothing to anyone, and would even cause harm to them if they were angry, or even if they just felt like it." He spoke so softly, everyone almost had to draw closer to him to even hear what he had said.

"In case you haven't gathered yet, I had the latter. My parents would always ridicule and belittle me for any little thing. If they were angry, or I upset them in any kind of way, or if they just felt like it, they would even attack me and beat at me, like you would see his Majesty do to a hyena, if you HAVE seen such a thing." He continued, adding the little reference to give something of an idea as to what he was talking about.

If the atmosphere before hadn't been very awkward and uncomfortable for all before, now it was downright barren and cold and depressing. He had just shared something his own lifelong friends hadn't even heard him admit before. In fact, they didn't even have anything to say, even as James' shoulders began to shake and his breathing began to grow more rapid and labored.

Raising his head up high, he quickly cleaned away whatever tears were building in his eyes. "I haven't told anyone that story in years." He quickly spoke up a little louder for all to hear as he began to walk past his frozen stiff counterparts, who quickly made way after him.

As they continued to steadily make their way back, a sudden thought came across Mason's mind. Something he had meant to say back when they had ALL been together. "Hey, uh, Nala." He suddenly spoke up, catching the blue-eyed cubs attention, even though she hadn't turned back to acknowledge him. "We, uh…well, back in the graveyard, that was really brave of you and Simba when you had gone back to save Zazu from the hyenas." He quietly spoke as the others all nodded their heads in agreement. "He's right. We were beginning to think you both hated him when you had gone through all that trouble to lose him earlier, and then made fun of him when he tried to get us out." David agreed as the gliding hornbill began to look cross once again. "You boys DO realize I can hear what you are all saying, right?" he spoke up sternly.

"Yeah, we know, but it's a fact. They had actually gone back to save you when those hyenas grabbed you. That was really something." Michael stated calmly, yet somewhat flatly, this commendation of bravery on her part, causing the small tan cub to very slightly smile in appreciation, yet with no noticeable sign for the boys to see that she had been listening.

Then, after only a few moments, she finally spoke up. "Thank you. I thought that you all were very brave too. Especially when you had all tried fighting those hyenas, just to save me and Simba." She quietly spoke back, at least sounding a little more cheered up than before.

Finally, after journeying across the Pridelands for what felt like hours, they had finally returned to Pride Rock, only to be greeted by an anxious and frightened looking Pride, led of course by their queen Sarabi. "Oh, thank goodness, you're all right." She sighed with relief as she looked upon them all concernedly. "Where had you all gone to? You were gone until nightfall. We had all begun to think something had happened!" she spoke sternly, yet still in shock as the other lionesses began to approach and circle all of them, looks of concern and relief among all of them.

When they were unable to answer, Sarabi had suddenly noticed something. "Where's Simba?" she suddenly asked, more horrified than anyone could have thought possible. That's when Zazu decided to step in, for himself and the others. "My queen, you have no need to worry. Simba is alright. However, if it wasn't for Mufasa, he most likely would have been killed, as would we all be. Apparently, your Majesty, Simba hadn't meant to go to the waterhole at all." He spoke regretfully, yet with a tone of discipline evident in his manner of speaking.

"Then tell me, Zazu. Where did Simba go to!" the queen asked, quickly losing patience. Zazu quickly held his wings up in defense as he cleared his throat to continue. "My queen, members of the pride, Simba, had snuck off to the Elephant Graveyard." He solemnly spoke, quickly followed by a collection of terrified gasps and nervous murmurings.

"Oh, Nala, are you hurt at all!?" Sarafina asked in motherly panic as Nala quickly ran to her mother, who had begun to look at her daughter for any wounds. "It's alright, mom. We're all okay." The young cub spoke in surrender as she looked at Zazu and the boys with a look of pity. Chances are they would get in very serious trouble for even allowing her and Simba to get into that wretched wasteland.

"The Elephant Graveyard!? Didn't Simba know that that land is those accursed hyenas territory?" Sarabi asked in absolute horror.

"Never you fear, your Majesty. As I said, Simba is alright. Mufasa had saved them all and sent those mangy hyenas running." Zazu spoke, now sounding proud of the way things in that wasteland had ended.

Suddenly, now taking the chance to speak for themselves, David stepped forward. "It's true. We had tried to make Nala and Simba turn back, but Simba had insisted. We ran into three hyenas, and they pursued us through the lands. By the time it had ended, they had driven us into a corner. As Zazu said, if it wasn't for Mufasa, we all would have been killed by those beasts. However, before he did…"

"…they all stepped forward and fought those hyenas to protect me and Simba." Nala suddenly spoke up, catching all the lionesses' attention. Without a word, they all turned their gazes to the four human boys in their little circle. "Is this true?" Sarabi quietly spoke, causing the four of them to nod their heads in agreement. "It's true. We didn't have much to defend ourselves with, but Nala's right. We fought off the hyenas as best we could, until Mufasa came." Michael announced to the pride, looking more self confident and sure of himself than he ever had before.

All they had been met with was silence. Was it of shock? Was it of disappointment? None of the boys knew, until the most silent of sounds came from Sarafina, who had her head bowed. It was so quiet, they almost couldn't hear it.

"Thank you." She whispered, raising her head to look at these four strangers who had saved the life of her daughter and their future king. "Thank you so much." She spoke again, the slightest bit louder again. "Nala and Simba wouldn't be here now…if it hadn't been for all of you." She stated loud and clearly, tears of gratefulness running their way down.

Soon, the entire pride was in agreement, especially the mothers of the two cubs they had risked their own lives to save. Sarabi was the first to finally address the four of them.

"We cannot thank any of you enough for what you all have done. Even though you had only been among us for no more than a day, already you have risked your own lives…for the lives of our children." She announced for all the pride to hear, a shine of the utmost gratitude evident in her speech. "We had not known how to tell any of you, but now would perhaps be the best time for you all to know. You see…" she had begun, when suddenly, the sound of an all too familiar energetic child came from the distance, drawing the attention of all present.

"MOM!" Simba called out, running at breakneck speed, quickly followed by Mufasa. In a heartbeat, Sarabi was darting towards her son and soon, the three of them were reunited, much to the joy of the rest of the pride and a deeply touched James, David, Mason and Michael. It was rare nowadays to see such a happy family back together, like they were meant to be.

The three lions returned to the pride. Much to their relief, Mufasa was a lot less angry looking now, even happy, and the same could be said for Simba. He looked back to his regular energetic happy self. _'That's what a kid like him should always look like.' _James thought warmly as they watched Simba and Nala come running to each other, and typically start roughhousing like they always did while Mufasa and Sarabi were silently conversing amongst each other, and quickly disappearing over the top of Pride Rock's slope. To the four boys' surprise, Mufasa nodded his head back, and the other lionesses quickly made their way to their king whilst the two cubs continued to play across the dirt, momentarily bumping into the boys' legs.

"Hey, kids, don't go hurting each other now." Mason spoke out strictly, even though the chuckle he was giving at the same time erased all seriousness he was displaying right now. Momentarily stopping, Simba and Nala separated and looked over the four of them quietly, then quickly glancing at each other, and then grinning.

In a heartbeat, the two of them had suddenly leaned back and pounced James and Mason down to the ground, the lot of them laughing playfully as the two cubs quickly leapt off them and started running. "You can't catch us!" Simba teased as he and Nala quickly took off with the two of them on their heels. "Yeah? We'll see about that you little hairball!" James shouted back, playing along as he and Mason continually jumped after them, but the little cubs proved too fast for them.

At one point, Mason made a sliding leap for Simba, only to go sliding across the dirt, right into Michael's legs, sending him right onto his back. "Come on guys, bet you can't catch us." Nala jeered as she and Simba began to run their way up the slope, with their four laughing human friends hot on their heels. Even Michael was enjoying himself with this childish attempt at tag.

Minutes later, the six of them were finally done for the moment. None of the boys had been able to catch either Nala or Simba. In the end, all they had gotten accomplished, was tripping all over themselves, and all over each other, ending up in a pile on the stone floor, listening to the triumphant laughs of the two cubs. "Just you both wait. One day, we'll get you." David muttered as he quickly brushed the dirt from his torn jeans.

At that moment, Mufasa, Sarabi and the rest of the pride had come one by one from out of the cave of Pride Rock. "Simba, Nala, come back here for a minute." Mufasa called out, the two cubs almost instantly returning to their respective parents as the pride had formed another circle around the four boys, much to their surprise. What was happening now, they had no clue.

"Uh, what's going on?" Michael nervously asked as Mufasa, Sarabi and Simba took a step forward to be inside the prides circle alongside them. "I have something important to share with tell all of you, if you would listen carefully." Mufasa strongly commanded, bringing the four weary boys to full attention.

"David, James, Michael and Mason, when I had Zazu send you all and Nala back to Pride Rock, Simba had told me something. He told me that before I had arrived, that you all had tried to fight off the hyenas, just so they could not get to him and Nala. Just recently, Sarabi and the rest of the pride have told me the exact same thing. Now, I only need to know, from your own viewpoints. Is what they all have told me true? Did you all really try to protect my son and Nala from the hyenas?" he asked, clearly wanting his answer truthful, and he wanted their answer now.

The boys all immediately nodded their heads. "It's true. We may not have done much before you arrived, but we did the best we could." James solemnly spoke, keeping his head bowed in respect.

When they finally decided to look up, Mufasa looked happier than they had ever seen him since they first came to this strange world. "You have my utmost and deepest eternal gratitude. All of you." He spoke proudly and in the most heartfelt manner someone like he could muster. "If it had not been for you all, the children would have been killed. My pride and myself cannot thank you enough for what you have done." He spoke deeply and truthfully as he, and the entire pride, actually bowed THEIR heads, in respect, to the four of them, all looking in absolute shock.

The entire pride was bowing to them now. "Also, there is something we think you all should know. Sarabi had told me that when she and her hunting party had found you that day in the plains, when your eyes had met, she told me that all of them had a very different feeling about the four of you, not just because you're new to the Pridelands." Mufasa announced strongly as the pride all focused in on the humans intently. "I had not known what she had truly meant, but what she had told me, is that perhaps, it is not just coincidence that you all came here the way you did. What we all think, is that you came to our Pridelands, because it is your fate. Because, you all have a part to play here, in the circle of life. We all for one believe this, and the actions you have done today have proven that." He continued, looking solely at the four boys and no one else.

"In recognition, and gratitude for all you have done for us since you came here, we wish to do something for you." He finally announced in conclusion to this speech he had given in their favor out of the blue. "We had all discussed and agreed, and we would like to accept the four of you, into our pride." He finally concluded, leaving a powerfully strong atmosphere in the little circle.

The boys were completely blown away with this. One day they had been here, and all they had done was hunt, and watch out for two of their children, and already the entire pride was asking them to become part of their family. Although, it sort of added up when Michael looked back on saving Mufasa's life earlier the same afternoon and how they had saved the children from getting killed.

"However, there is further reason as to why we ask this of you." Mufasa suddenly continued, breaking the four boys from their thoughts. "Michael, I had given long and careful thought to this whole idea myself, ever since you had told me of when you had lost your own family. Zazu has also told us that the rest of you, as well, have no true family to return to. When all thought is given, you all have no families back in your world. So, we wish to accept you into our own, as one of us." He had finally finished, all the pride gazing upon the humans with mixed stares of hope, and some glares of uncertainty.

All of this was almost too much for the four of them to handle. It was almost like an inner battle for each of them, whether or not to accept this request that these lions had so generously given them. For Michael, he knew he wanted a family to be a part of, for his own was gone forever, but saying yes was proving more difficult for him than he thought. For James, he had a biological family back home, but whether he actually wanted to go back to that domestic hell was something else entirely. David, his parents had abandoned him almost right after he was born, so he was basically in the same boat as Michael. As for Mason, his family showed him no appreciation, always praising his older siblings, and berating him as the youngest. He knew he didn't want to go back to that.

Finally, after what felt like a lifetime of debating and psychological arguing, Mason was the first one to step forward to the king, queen and cub. "I gratefully accept." He softly spoke as he bowed low at Mufasa's paws, soon followed by David. "I gladly accept your offer, your Majesty." He whispered as he bowed beside Mason. Soon, James was next to follow. "I am honored to be accepted into your pride." He spoke softly, bowing beside his friends, soon followed by a somewhat hesitant looking Michael, who strongly locked eyes with the lion king. Finally, after a tense moment of silence, Michael let out a breath of relief, and bowed down alongside his lifelong friends. "I gladly accept." He finally said.

Every single member of the pride exchanged expressions of joy and thankfulness as a warmly smiling Mufasa and Sarabi graciously bowed their heads in return, while an ecstatic Simba and Nala were cheering and jumping with excitement.

A single tear rolling down each of their cheeks, David, Mason, Michael and James stood tall one by one as each individual lioness in the pride came forward and softly nuzzled themselves against the boys dangling hands in showing their acceptance of the four of them.

At this very moment, the happiness shimmering in their eyes, was actually matched in the eyes of their new king and queen. Their offer of an accepting family had been accepted, and these four boys who only had each others friendship as consolation before, now had a real family again.

Anyone else would have called this a display of insanity, but this was not insanity. This was heart. This was true acceptance. It may not have been a human family, but they all cooperated and loved each other as families back in their world always should.

"Hjem." Michael softly whispered to himself as they all turned around to get a good look at each and every lioness standing before them. Their new family. This was the start of something new, something great, something beautiful. "Welcome, brothers." The king spoke warmly as all the pride roared in acceptance of these humans into their pride. It was of such power, no normal being would hear after. However, they paid no mind. This was the marking of their new beginning.

"We're home."

**Well, there's chapter 7 for you all. I know that this probably isn't anywhere near as well written as other chapters, but I just wanted to supply you all with something while I'm out here. Chapter 8 will be up real soon.**

**For those of you who are wondering, 'Hjem' is Norwegian for 'home'. **

**Read and review, as always. **


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